


Jaegermon

by KaijuSplotch



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: AU: Jaegermon, Canonical Character Death, Everyone shows up eventually, F/M, Gen, M/M, My god i'm insane, Sentient Jaegers, Tiny Jaegers!, consider this a mash up of Pacific Rim Metabots and Pokemon, human with mechanical limbs, i need to come up with another title maybe, tiny Kaiju
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-07 05:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 36,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1116309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaijuSplotch/pseuds/KaijuSplotch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Kaiju first appeared, not many people were scared. Most of them were small and barely any danger. Boy were they wrong. They moved in and cleared out a niche for themselves in our world, and then the attacks started.</p><p>Conventional weapons didn't work too well. The Kaiju were too many and some too small. Along with the fact that the little monsters caused a lot of collateral damage going after people. So they created Jaegers; 3 to five foot tall robots who could help defend towns and be in the military with one or two Rangers to help direct them.</p><p>Whole units of Jaegers and Rangers were able to fight against the Kaiju Swarms and push them back. It worked. Really well actually! People wanted to buy the Jaegers for their own personal body guards, or even some as gifts for their children. A way to fund the program was practically handed to them.</p><p>That's where we come in. My brother Yancy and I got our Jaeger, Gipsy Danger, and life was never the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Yancy and Raleigh Becket

Chapter One: Yancy and Raleigh Becket

“Heads up, Yance!” Raleigh cried as he tossed a snowball into the direction of his brother, three years his senior, as he hid behind a wall of snow. Raleigh had turned eight just a week prior and was already breaking in his new winter jacket.

“Woah! Nice toss!” Yancy laughed and began to lob back more snow balls in the short Anchorage winter day.

You wouldn't think that three years prior the world had changed. It was when people realized that the strange mutated creatures that were rumored for a year or two before to be appearing first swarmed.

2003 saw the first swarm of Kaiju. They were blade headed and nearly twenty feet tall. They were known as Trespassers, and the tallest, a 40 foot tall monster was the leader of the swarm. It took well over six hours for the military to take the swarm down, and they lost hundreds of soldiers. It took another two months with the next Swarm that they really began to take the Kaiju as a serious threat. And that they weren't going to just go away.

That's when they realized that they needed remote warriors and a way to defend the cities that seemed to be the major targets to keep the collateral damage to a minimum. Walls were built, and the Jaeger Program was started.

The first Jaegers, Mark-1's, were just under five feet tall and all took commands from the field commander. They needed to have enough intelligence to follow orders as well as manipulate those orders in case there was a change. So their AI's grew quite a bit and so did the bonds with certain soldiers who worked with them the most.

The Jaegers went from one commander per unit of fifteen to twenty, to one to two soldiers partnered with one jaeger.

As the Kaiju swarms were beaten back, people began to ask about where they could get their own Jaegers for personal protection, especially those who lived in the farmlands. The Jaegers became both military and civilian protectors. They practically promoted themselves.

The elasticity of the Jaeger's AI's made them adept at not only defending, but also companionship and learning. Children flocked to the Jaegers and even began to have mock fights between the Jaegers to train to become Rangers for the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps.

Everyone wanted a Jaeger, and the Becket brothers were no different.

“Hey, you think Mom and Dad will be able to get us a Jaeger this year? The Mark-3's are coming out and I guess some people are getting prototypes from the PPDC to test!” Raleigh asked walking over as he pulled his sled behind him.

“I dunno, Jaeger's are a lot of money, it'd have to be, like a birthday AND Christmas gift for both of us. It would be cool though.” Yancy smiled at his little brother and led him up to the top of a hill behind their house, dragging his own sled. “I was looking at some of the older models though. I still like that modded Romeo Blue that was down in Seattle.”

Raleigh laughed and nodded. “Yeah, a re-issued Mark-1 or 2 would be cool. I think Romeo was sent to Germany after being re-issued. At least that's what I read on the PPDC web site.”

“You live on that web site and the 'Adoption' page.” Yancy laughed but he was just as guilty.

The 'Adoption' page was where re-issued and re-built Mark-1 military Jaegers were put up for private citizens around the world to be bought for civilian work. They gave small bios on the Jaegers including what they're skill sets would be best for. Although most people considered Jaegers nothing more than walking computers, a lot of people noticed the distinct personalities of the Jaegers and began considering them more like pets or even children.

“Still...it would be so cool to have a Jaeger to train with and become a Ranger with!” Raleigh beamed and turned around as they looked down the hill toward their home.

Alaska was all they knew, really, and rarely did any Kaiju swarm there. For Raleigh and Yancy, seeing a Kaiju was a rare occasion in person, even if they were on the news every night around the world.

“Well we don't need a Jaeger of our own to train y'know. We can still be Rangers when we get out of high school.” Yancy patted his little brother's shoulder and chuckled. “Now c'mon! Let's get some sledding in before the sun goes down and it gets cold!” Sitting down on the sleds, the two had several races before the cold began to get to them.

 

The short days of winter kept the Becket boys distracted with making their own Snow-men (or Jaegers considering how obsessive Raleigh was,) as well as winter break school work, they didn't notice much of the strangeness that was happening in the house.

“I know you don't like it, but it's just until the boys get up,” their mother said softly as she fixed the bow about the neck of Yancy and Raleigh's big gift on Christmas Eve.

“But I don't like bows or ribbons.”

“It's just for a couple of hours. Just take a nap until then. They'll be up at dawn, knowing those two.” She smiled at patted the gift's head before closing the box. “I know they'll love you.” she said before finally getting up and heading back to bed.

“Still don't like ribbons,” the box replied before finally going silent.

Raleigh and Yancy were up, as predicted, just minutes before the sun was and already banging on the door of their parents.

“Mom! Dad! C'mon! It's Christmas!” Raleigh cried as he chased his brother in their flannel pajamas.

The two stopped at the bottom of the stairs, staring in wonder at the tree covered in lights and decorations and surrounded by gifts of all shapes. Their young eyes were drawn to a large box near the center of the tree. It was at least four feet tall and was wrapped differently than the rest, with bright blue wrapper and a red ribbon tied in a perfect bow.

“Hold on, before you two get ripping into everything, I want to get a picture.” their father said getting a camera out and snapping a few pics of the boys in front of the tree.

“You guys want breakfast-”

“Nope!” they cried in unison before bouncing on their heels excitedly.

“All right, I guess you guys have been waiting for long enough.” their mother said sitting down and sipping her coffee. “Go at it.”

The call of the strange gift was too much for Yancy and Raleigh to ignore, and once they read the tag that it was for both of them, they tore at the ribbon, jumping back when something moved inside.

“No way...” Yancy looked at their parents, a grin spreading across his face.

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” Raleigh pulled the ribbon off the box and lifted the separate lid as Yancy rushed back to his side.

Inside, tangled in the ribbon that had been put around its neck, was a bright blue and red trimmed Mark-3 Jaeger. It was four feet tall, with a bright yellow visor and blue digital eyes that stared up at them even as the red ribbon was wrapped around its head. There was a bright blue glowing disk just below the middle of its chest. The Jaeger was built like a football player with wide shoulders and long legs, but the head, as with almost all Jaegers, was oversized to give a more friendly 'childlike' look so that people would warm up to them more.

“Uh..hi! Merry Christmas!” she; the audio output was that of a female, said with a grin.

“She's a girl Jaeger? I didn't think they HAD girl AI Jaegers,” Yancy said for a moment before helping the blue Jaeger out of the box and disentangled from the ribbon.

“I don't care! She's OURS! Our own Jaeger!” Raleigh laughed and hugged the small 'bot tightly. “I'm Raleigh! That's my brother Yance.”

She blinked and hugged back and glared a bit at the ribbon when it was on the ground before beaming with bright eyes. “I'm Gipsy Danger, Mark-3 Jaeger! It's nice to meet ya! So you're going to be my Rangers?” she asked looking at the boys and beaming. Although she may not have had a mouth to smile, the digital light 'eyes' were very expressive and the family could tell when Gipsy was smiling.

“Well one day we'll be official Rangers, right now...I guess we can be your trainers and friends!” Raleigh said beaming at the blue Jaeger. Yancy chuckled at his brother and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, we'll help train each other and be able to kick some Kaiju tail!”

“Good! That's what I'm good at! or...at least will be. But I know I'm going to be the best already.” Gipsy laughed a bit, a bright sound that was rather infectious. The boys could tell that she was just as headstrong as the two of them, and maybe a little cockier, but she was a Jaeger, and a brand new one too, so why shouldn't she?

“I'm glad you boys like her. To be honest, I wasn't sure how well you'd take to a female Jaeger AI,” their mother said smiling at them as they nearly forgot about the other gifts that lay nearby for them as well.

“Girls can fight just as hard as boys,” Raleigh said with a nod. “And Gipsy is awesome! We'll be the best with her! Yance and I will be the best Rangers and Gipsy, well she'll be in the legendary category! Like with Cherno Alpha and Romeo Blue!” Raleigh's blue eyes looked to Gipsy and hugged the small robot again, standing back and looking at her. He knew in his heart that he and his brother would be the best Rangers the world had ever seen and Gipsy, well, she was already the best Jaeger in his book and no one could tell him differently.


	2. Aleksis and Sasha

Chapter Two: Aleksis and Sasha

Moscow, Russia was a complex place to grow up in for Aleksis and Sasha. While not in the city proper, the two grew up neighbors from the very start. If not necessarily friends. Sasha was brash to the older and much shyer Aleksis, and it took some time before the two began to get along.

“Hey! Aleksis! Get your ass outta bed!” Sasha cried as she tossed a snowball at the older boy's window. She was a crass young girl of eight years and didn't let the shyer Aleksis get brushed by at school, or bullied because of his size.

“Okay, Sasha, just give me a minute!” Aleksis said poking his head out the window, his black hair hanging in his face. “Mama wants you to come in anyway.” he said after glancing back inside of his room. “I think she wants to help you with your hair.”

Sasha's long brown hair was tied loosely in a poor braid and her tattered hand-me-down winter jacket and gloves gave her a rough and tumble look. She glanced around the corner of the house toward the door where Anastia Kaidonovsky was watching her and waving her inside.

“Get in here, Sasha, let me braid your hair properly dear,” Aleksis's mother said ushering her in when Sasha walked over.

Neither Sasha nor Aleksis's family were not very well off, but Sasha's parents tended to be a little less caring in her looks when she went out to play.

“Thank you Mrs. Kaidonovsky,” Sasha said walking into the warm kitchen. She was soon guided to a chair and sat down.

“You're welcome, Sasha, now let's get that beautiful hair looking better.” Sasha smiled a bit when Aleksis's mother began to brush out her hair from its tangled braid. She sat quietly as she felt her hair being braided into two ropes against either side of her head and then back into a single braid.

“I like that better,” Aleksis said when he came down. He was tall for ten, nearly six feet tall, and he was lanky. Of course he was bulking up a little since it was winter.

“Grab something to eat first Aleksis, before you and Sasha head out on your little adventures.” Anastia smiled at her son and finished tying up Sasha's hair. “Would you like something before you go dear?”

“No, thank you, Mrs. Kaidonovsky. I already ate.” Sasha smiled and touched her hair and chuckled before getting her hat on. “Aleksis and I are going to head to the Jaeger factory.” She smirked a bit. “I bet we could find a frame or something and make our own Jaeger.” she smirked confidently as she watched Aleksis look toward her.

“Sasha, they never toss any frames out. If the Jaegers are shut down they just re-build them or something, and they'll give old jaegers new civilian jobs.” He looked slightly downtrodden at the thought. Both he and Sasha wanted to be Rangers, and Aleksis wanted to find a way to get a Jaeger for his mother, especially after the rough divorce that she had with his abusive father.

“Well either way I want you two to be careful. I've heard there are a few Kaiju running around in the city.”

“Da, Mama. We will be careful.” Aleksis finished off his toast and a glass of milk and smiled. “Ready Sasha?” He barely was able to put on his coat before Sasha pulled him out the door.

“Bye Mrs. Kaidonovsky! I'll take care of Aleksis!” Sasha cried with a wave as she closed the door.

The sun was warm and the skies clear as Aleksis and Sasha walked down the streets toward the Jaeger factory. As usual, Sasha was leading the way with Aleksis just behind her and to the right with his hands in his pockets.

“I don't know, Sasha. I want to be a Ranger, but...who would look after my mother? I can't trust that ass-hole of a man my father is not to go after her again.” Aleksis frowned as he walked, kicking a stone down the alley they were following toward the back of the factory that built Jaegers.

“He wouldn't dare go to her if he knows what's good for him.” Sasha looked at Aleksis and punched him in the arm. “Besides, when we become Rangers we can get your mom the best Jaeger to be her companion and look after her while we're on missions. Your mom will be fine.” Sasha smiled a bit and looked at the large fence up ahead. “Maybe we'll be lucky and they'll be testing some!”

Sasha rushed forward to the fence as Aleksis hung back, smiling as she ran. He was too busy thinking about his future to want to run toward the fence that separated them and the test field of the Jaegers. As he walked forward, though, a glint of metal near a garbage bin in another alley caught his eye.

“C'mon Aleksis! Move your ass!” Sasha cried back at him as he walked into the side alley. “What the hell are you doing?” She furrowed her brows before walking back to the tall boy.

“No...way! Sasha look at this!” Aleksis pulled garbage off of the metal body and stood back as he looked at the Jaeger.

“Holy shit!” Sasha grinned and knelt before the old Jaeger.

It was a brownish green in color, with two turbine shaped optics on either side of a tall smoke stack looking head. It was easy to identify it as a Mark-1 Jaeger, a very early one considering the simple design. It was dinged up and rusted, barely any identifying paint marks were left.

“I can't believe someone would just throw a Jaeger away like this,” Aleksis said, kneeling down and trying to get more of the gunk off of the Jaeger's shoulder.

“Yeah, I mean he's awesome!” Sasha smiled and looked at the emblem barely visible on the Jaeger's shoulder. “Wait...no way! Aleksis tell me I'm seeing things and we didn't just stumble across a legend.” she looked at the words written in Russian.

“Cherno...Alpha. Holy shit this is THE Cherno Alpha!” Aleksis beamed and looked at Sasha before lifting up the heavy Jaeger. “Can you turn him on?”

“Da, just a second.” Sasha opened the Jaeger's back panel and began to fiddle. There was a whirl of power before the Jaeger shut down again. “He's really messed up.” She frowned and sat back on her heels.

“Well...how about we fix him up then?” Aleksis smiled and looked around. “I've got tools in the shed and I'm sure we can get the parts we need from the shops in town.”

Sasha looked up and nodded. “Still have that red wagon?”

It took them a half hour, between going back for the wagon and then going back to get Cherno and drag him back to Aleksis's shed in his back yard. The snow was starting to come town by the time they had gotten back and turned on the heater in the back.

“All right, let's get a better look at him now that we have light.” Sasha smirked a bit as she put her hands on her hips. “Put him up on the table, Aleksis.”

“Yes ma'am.” Aleksis chuckled and lifted up the heavy Jaeger and put him on the table, smiling as he looked the bot over.

Sasha put down a large took kit and opened it up. She looked to Aleksis and chuckled as she opened up the back of their Jaeger. Their Jaeger. She couldn't even believe that they had that kind of luck. Hopefully the old Hero was still working and just needed a tune up.

“How's he look?” Aleksis asked as he began to get a cleaning rag and shine up the bot's armor.

“Looks like he's got a few fried lines and maybe a busted servo. The main thing is his power line. Looks like he took a nasty hit and it just corroded out. Shame really, that they'd just toss him out like this.” Sasha shook her head and looked at the wires.

“Well he's ours now and we're not going to just toss him away. Cherno will have a good home now.” Aleksis smiled and rubbed the Jaeger's head warmly as he polished the armor to a bright shine.

“Exactly, do you have any electrical tape and thick wire in here?”

“Yeah,” Aleksis abandoned the polishing to be helpful and got out the electrical tape and several thick wires and looked over Sasha's shoulder. “Looks like this is the best fit. Need me to hold a light?”

Sasha nodded with a smile as she cut the damaged wire out and began to reconnect the new wire. “Yeah, hopefully when his power is back on we can see what else needs to be fixed.” She chewed on her bottom lip as her smaller hands got covered in oil and grease from working on the innards of the mecha.

It was several hours of fixing broken wires before the two finally were able to safely turn the power supply back on. Sasha tried to hide how nervous she was about the basic repairs she did even as she put the back panel on Cherno and allowed the power to build up.

The first thing to begin to flicker to life was Cherno's eyes and the bright headlights on his forehead. Bright yellow orbs with a black cat like pupil flickered up and the Jaeger looked around slowly.

“He's online! You did it Sasha!” Aleksis crowed while hugging her before he was elbowed in the gut.

“No hugging! You know the rules,” Sasha said sticking out her tongue before smiling at Cherno. “I'm Sasha, and this lug head is Aleksis. We, mostly me, fixed you up. How are you feeling?” she asked with a bright grin.

“Sa-sha? Al-ksis?” Cherno blinked owlishly before tilting his massive head to one side then the other. “Mama, Papa!” he chirped with a grin.

The blush that spread across Sasha and Aleksis's faces were nearly as red as the heating coil in the heater.


	3. Cheung, Jin, and Hu Wei

Chapter Three: Cheung, Jin and Hu Wei

“Stop hogging the ball Hu!”

“I'm not hogging it! No one's open!”

“We need a fourth, this is getting ridiculous.” Cheung looked to his brothers, Hu and Jin with a sigh.

They were barely ten, and being identical triplets, they were often considered creepy because they often dressed alike. Add in that all three were rather short tempered and protective, especially over the youngest of them Hu, they got into more fights than their parents knew what to do with.

As such, the three usually just played by themselves. Which was all fine and good, but playing basketball with three was kind of difficult.

“Well, I may have a remedy for that,” the light timber of their mother's voice came from the back door of their house in the outskirts of Hong Kong.

They're home wasn't much, an old house near the slums but far enough away to be considered safer than the actual slums. The alley near in the back of their house was empty save for an old basketball net that the triplets practically lived under.

“What is it Ma?” Hu asked rushing over with a bright grin. His brothers followed, Jin holding onto the basketball while Cheung pushed his sunglasses back onto his head.

“You'll have to work on it, but I think it will be a good exercise for you boys. It's a Jaeger frame.” She stepped back and showed the simple frame, more a skeleton, for a Jaeger.

The legs were double jointed, a design similar to a specific line of Mark-1 Jaeger. Thankfully it was still fully wired and had the power source inside the chest cavity. The Jaeger was barely four feet five inches tall, but the triplets beamed.

“Where'd you get it Ma?!” Jin smiled and put the basketball aside before looking at the frame before touching the joints.

“It was a junked frame from an upgrade, I figured you boys could fix it up and make it your own. Everything is wired and put together, you just need to get the armor together and an AI chip.” Their mother smiled at them as they looked between themselves.

“Thank you Ma! I think we have an idea of how to make this the best and most unique Jaeger ever!” Cheung grinned and looked to Hu. “Go and get your sketchbook, Hu, we'll make our Crimson Typhoon!”

Hu beamed and ran into their house and up into the room he shared with his brothers, pulling out the sketchbook he had stowed away under his bed. He was no Picasso but his prized drawing was of their own Jaeger. He smiled as he opened the book up to the right page and chuckled.

The Jaeger was red and gold, with a single bright optic and three arms. It was something he talked about with his brothers if they were to have a Jaeger of their own how to make it stand out from the other mass produced bots.

Rushing back down to the back yard, Hu smiled and laid out the drawing on a table.

“Okay, so we'll have to get a spare arm to frame it in, and it may take some programming to get the AI to be able to handle three limbs. The head is pretty simple to fix, I think. We'll have to get Da to help with the welding and stuff. Uh...do you think Mr. Hung could help with the programming if we're really nice and bring him some of Ma's stir fry?” Cheung asked looking to Jin and Hu.

“Yeah he's always a sucker for Ma's food, and I'm sure he could give us a good deal on an AI card too!” Jin smiled and looked at the design and then looked at the Jaeger again. “First thing's first, though. We gotta get the armor!”

Getting the armor and the extra arm was the hardest part, but after a month of going to car shops, repair businesses, and junk yards, they finally had everything. With their father helping with the welding, Hu Jin and Cheung did most of the wiring work and armor attachments themselves.

“Jin, hand me the electrical tape would ya? I think I finally have this servo in place,” Cheung reached behind him for his brother.

“Okay! The front armor panel is on! The head is finally hooked up right too,” Hu said standing back from their handy work with a bright smile.

“Third arm is all set up too. Here ya go Cheung.” Jin smiled and looked at the power supply again. “As soon as the wiring is finished we can run a test to see if it moves properly. Then all we need is an AI chip from Mr. Hung and have him double check the program.”

As Cheung finished up the wiring he stepped back with a grin. “All set to test!”

The brothers stood back and smiled as they ran a few simple tests. When the arms worked properly and responded to the commands the triplets quickly rushed to get the Jaeger into the wagon and head to the shop.

“Mr. Hung! We finished it!” Hu cried as the pulled the wagon into the front of the shop. “All we need now is the AI card and for you to double check the programs!” he said bouncing on his feet excitedly.

The older man laughed and looked at the red and gold Jaeger, smiling brightly. He walked around with a small tablet in his hand and looked at the job they did.

“That is one amazing machine, boys. You three should get into the design programs when you get into your higher schools. Telescopic vision with the single optic lens, right?” He smiled and looked at the responses on the programs on his tablet and nodded.

“Yeap! With radar around the sides so that no kaiju can sneak up on either side!” Cheung beamed at the older man.

“A smart plan boys. Looks like your Jaeger is programmed well!” the repair shop owner smiled and looked at the three boys.

“Awesome! So you have an AI card we can have right? We've been saving up our allowances and Da even gave us some extra!” Hu smiled and put down the money on the counter as the older man went back and looked through the cards he had in stock.

“I know, boys. Now you do know that the AI could have some problems with the third arm at first, so you need to be patient. There's one card, though that I think will work well with the frame type you have.” Mr. Hung smiled and pulled out a data card and took the price off. He wasn't going to tell them that it was a more advanced AI replacement for Mark-3's and was probably more than their allowance combined.

Jin looked at the card in awe, as his brothers were on either side of him beaming. “Oh wow...our own Jaeger. Built pretty much from the ground up!” he laughed and took the card gently when it was given to him.

“You take good care of that Jaeger boys. You've got a one of a kind bot on your hands, so don't give up on him.” Mr. Hung smiled at them warmly.

“Thank you Mr. Hung!” They cheered happily as they pulled their Jaeger, decked out with Crimson Typhoon everywhere, out onto the sidewalk.

“Okay, Jin, put the card in! Let's go let's go!” Cheung grinned and laughed happily.

“Hold on! I gotta get into the unit first!” Jin laughed and finally put the AI card in the slot, smiling a bit. “Okay, here we go!” he grinned and activated the power cell before closing up the back of their Jaeger.

The trio smiled and waited expectantly as the lights began to respond to the power cell, and the single optic begin to flicker with the activation of the AI.

“H-huh?” A shy girl's voice eminated from the speakers of the Jaeger. “Oh..h-hello.” she said sitting up and rubbing her head blinking at the third arm curiously. “This...isn't a standard frame is it?”

“Nope!” Jin said happily walking to her side. “We customized the frame from an old Mark-1. The third arm and your head and then we added power jets so you can jump! Uh...you probably already have a name from the AI, but...we named the frame the Crimson Typhoon.” he said smiling.

“You're going to the best Jaeger ever! We have a whole fighting style to teach you! And we can teach you how to play basketball too!” Cheung grinned and laughed as he put his glasses on his shirt.

“Oh...Crimson Typhoon...” she said before smiling with a bright yellow optic. “I like it! I don't have a name otherwise. Thank you for giving me a name, and such a wonderful frame! Can I be called Ty?” she asked with a smile.

“Of course, Ty. You'll be like a sister to us! We'll help you get used to the third arm, since it's kinda a non-standard thing.” Hu smiled at Ty and helped her up out of the wagon with his brothers.

“Thank you, so what are your names? You look so much alike I'm afraid I'll mix you up for a bit.” Ty smiled with a chuckle.

“I'm Cheung, this is Jin and that is Hu. We're identical triplets, even our parents get us mixed up. So it's okay. Jin always has a basketball, Hu has his sketchbook and me, well I wear sunglasses.” Cheung laughed and pointed to the glasses on his shirt.

“Okay, I think I can keep that straight. I'm more than happy to be your sister and your Jaeger.” Typhoon smiled and chuckled looking at the three boys before reaching around them and hugging all three easily with the third arm.

“Awesome! Now we finally have someone to play basketball with too!” Cheung crowed.

“She's going to be on my team!” Hu said as they began to walk off back toward home.

“Well we can always switch teams up too,” Ty said a voice of reason already between them. She fit in like she had been there all along.


	4. Newton Geiszler

Chapter Four: Newton Geiszler

Berlin hadn't seen many attacks from Kaiju since the start, but that didn't mean that the people of Germany were any less leery of the strange creatures. Or in one case, any less interested in them.

Newton Geiszler was seventeen years old and working on his master's degree in biology. With any hope by the time he was twenty he could go to MIT and continue research and doctorates in the study of Kaiju.

“Newton, that request you put in for an assistant finally came through,” a young woman said as Newt was wrist deep in a carcass of a Kaiju.

He had gotten several tattoos of his favorite Kaiju on his arms, and was not afraid to show them off even as he worked. Newt's wild hair and tight pants were the atypical scientist attire, just as much as was the metal music blasting from a nearby laptop.

“Huh?” Newton looked up from the remains and glanced back at the doorway, goggles smudged in 'Kaiju Blue', the name for the rather corrosive blood and fluids that glowed blue. Newton had been the one to figure out how to neutralize the corrosive effects to make the carcasses safe to work on. He had been given an immediate acceptance into Berlin's highest university for that achivement. He reached over with a hand smudged in blue and turned off the music.

“Your assistant. The request was approved and they've given you a Jaeger for your field studies.” She sighed and looked at the intelligent young man before gently pushing the white and black Jaeger into the room.

“Oh Sweet! Mark-1 design too! Tough fuckers.” Newton grinned and rushed over to the pointy looking Jaeger. “What's your name?”

“Tacit Ronin,” the Jaeger replied with a rather deep vocal set simply. The yellow visor with set deep brown optics looked over Newton critically.

“Nice to meet you! You'll be working for me now! Name's Newt. Thanks a bunch for bringing him in. Now we can actually go and capture some live specimines!” Newton beamed and walked back to the table, watching as Tacit simply stood near the door. “Uh...you know you can come in right?” Newton blinked a bit, tilting his head as he watched the strange Jaeger.

Tacit didn't respond verbally, but he moved in, his birdlike legs making his movements smooth and almost like he was floating. His feet must have had special soles put on the bottom, because the mecha barely made a sound as he continued to walk around the lab. His brown optics moved slowly from one item to the next. It seemed that he was taking in every single part of the Biology lab before walking over to the exam table that held the Kaiju remains that Newt was working on.

“Why are you discecting this creature's remains?” Again that deep voice startled Newt. He always expected them to sound like children with their proportions and bigger heads.

“To figure out it's biology. Y'see I'm already planning ahead for my doctorates degree. And to get into MIT. I figure if I can out the key to how and why they swarm, then we may not even need Jaegers any more if we can find a way to keep that trigger from happening!” Newton's grin faded when he looked at Tacit. The Jaeger's optics and visor dulled and he climbed down from the chair he put himself in. “Tacit?”

“Is that what will become of us? Jaegers just tossed aside like toys once they are no longer needed?” Tacit asked a little bitterly, not expecting any response as he moved to look out the window.

It was clear to Newton that the Jaeger was wise beyond his three years of functioning. He had never really taken into the consideration the feelings of Jaegers, after all he barely had any interactions with them. He was a biologist, not a robotics guy. He never really thought that the machines would 'evolve' really.

“What do you mean? I mean...I'm sure you guys would be re-purposed. It's not like you'll just be abandoned in an alley or something. I mean c'mon! You're useful!”

“Not useful enough for the military apparently,” Tacit didn't turn around but leaned his arms against the window sill and stared out beyond the glass. “They decommissioned me after I...lost my trainers in an accident on the field.” Tacit looked away from where Newton had walked up next to him.

“What...what happened?”Newton sat down next to the four foot ten inch Jaeger.

Tacit glanced over at Newton and looked down. “It...was my fault.” he said softly, his deep voice a deep purr. “A Kaiju swarm had attacked back in Japan where I was forged. My trainers and I got separated in the fight.”

Tacit fought through another large Kaiju, a massive rhinoceros creature that nearly impaled him through his stomach. Using his blades he slashed and cut off the beast's head. He stumbled back from the wound in his side. He hadn't completely avoided the bladed horn.

The Jaeger had been through dozens of fights before, but this Swarm was different. Shaking off the static and what he could only describe as pain in his side, he realized his trainers were gone. He searched the battlefield, strained his audios to hear their voices, but he couldn't hear them. Panic rose in his AI and he rushed through the bloody mess of a fight.

That was when he got blindsided. A smaller kaiju charged him and slammed into the white and black Jaeger sending him flying through the air from the toss from it's powerful head. Rolling to a stop, Tacit was slow to stand, and by the time he did, Kaiju were coming from him on all sides.

Glaring at the monsters, Tacit heated up the edges of his arm blades and gave a battle cry before engaging the half dozen Kaiju. It was a blur of flashing blades, blue blood and black oil, and the Jaeger was on high edge throughout the whole time, trying desperately to defend himself as well as hide his injury.

Time blurred and as the Kaiju fell before him, Tacit felt he had finally won. At the sudden flash of something that looked like the bladed horn of a Kaiju over his shoulder, Tacit gave another roar as he spun and sunk his blade into flesh. The flesh of his trainer's chest. The look of shock upon the man's face was forever etched in Tacit's memory.

His trainer gasped and put his hand on Tacit's shoulder as the life drained from him.

“You...did good, Tacit,” he whispered before he slumped over, falling off of the heated blade on Tacit's arm.

Newton stared in silence, his chest clenching as he listened to the tale the Jaeger told. He looked out the window for a moment before taking off his gloves and putting a hand on the white mecha's shoulder.

“They decommissioned me immediately. I don't know why the changed their mind on completely scrapping me, AI and all; but they did. Took away all of my weapons, offensive and defensive and locked me away until they could find a suitable job for me to perform.” Tacit frowned, not really reacting to the hand on his shoulder. “I...never got to tell my other trainer I was sorry. That I didn't mean to kill his brother.” Static began to fill the Jaeger's vocals as well as his optical visor. “I never got to say I was sorry! I...never got to say goodbye!” Tacit's voice gave out and he pushed his head into Newton's chest, ignoring the smell of the Kaiju Blue for the support of the man.

Tacit hadn't told anyone why he was stripped down to such base armor, even the other Jaegers who passed by the re-assignment section. They wouldn't understand after all. All the other Jaegers in that section of the building were war heroes, Mark-1's and even Mark-2's passed him by with their heads held high. They would never be re-assigned as long as they had their trainers, baring a serious injury or loss.

Tacit would have been lying if he said he didn't hold contempt for the other Jaegers. Bitterly angry at his lot in life, and even at the PPDC for forcing it, it was easy to understand why he was quiet and sullen. But as soon as those walls came down, and he finally admitted his heartache to this strange seventeen year old boy, Tacit was wrapped in warm arms and accepted, sins and all.

“I...I'm so sorry, Tacit,” Newton whispered holding the Jaeger close. The biologist looked at the metal machine in his arms and had a sudden realization. “You're more human than we could have ever imagined. I promise you, you will never be abandoned again. I don't care if I have to scrape up every penny but I won't let you be left alone again. When I go to MIT, I'm bringing you with me.”

Tacit blinked and looked up at the man, static slowly disappearing as he took in Newton's words. “You...would do that for me? You would take me with you?” he asked, a soft squeak appearing in the deep vocals.

“Of course Little Dude,” Newton said with a bright smile. “Y'know...I've been talkin' with this cool dude over e-mail, and he's got a Mark-1 too. I bet when we meet up all four of us will be like...bro's or something and you'll have another Jaeger to chat with too while Hermann and I are science-ing it up.”

Tacit shook his head with a smile in his optics at Newton's bright smile. “I...have a request,” he said after a moment. “When you take me with you...can you...” he fidgeted a bit. “Can you take me to my trainer's resting place? At the very least, I...have things I need to say to him.”

“No problem Tacit. Never good to leave things unsaid. C'mon, I could use your help with the dissection!” Newt grinned and stood up, patting the Jaeger on the shoulder before heading over to the lab table. “I gotta find out how these things reproduce.”

“Is that all you humans think about? Sex?” Tacit mused as he followed the strange teenager. He found a strange new trainer indeed, but he couldn't complain as long as Newton kept his promise.


	5. Hermann Gottlieb

Chapter Five: Hermann Gottlieb

“I really do not need an assistant. I am completely capable of performing my tasks!” Hermann barked as he limped over to his desk. The eighteen year old would never admit it, but at times he wished he did have an extra pair of hands.

Hermann Gottlieb lost a lot of the function in his right leg after an accident in a Jaeger programming lab. He had been sixteen at the time, and was working on new fighting programs and algorithms when the test frame glitched. In his inexperience, Hermann had rushed to disconnect the wires at the frame, and had a burning blade shoved through his thigh for his attempt.

Months of recovery and surgery later, Hermann was left with a permanent limp, which always worsened in certain seasons and weather. He had always been active before, mostly swimming; hence his lanky build. Loosing that joy of biking and swimming made Hermann a bitter young man.

Even as he worked in an old room with chalkboards and boxes of chalk and books across tables, the librarian watched with soft eyes.

“I just worry, Hermann,” he said looking at him. He was an older gentleman with a cane of his own, and life experiences beyond the young genius’s. “You’re young and I know that you still think you can run after what happened.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I'm perfectly fine. I'm not an invalid, I just have a limp.” Hermann said with a grumble as he moved to get a book from a nearby table as he stood at a chalkboard.

“Here you are sir,” a soft voice said handing the book to him. Hermann blinked and looked down at the blue and gold Jaeger.

He had been modified, it seemed, and his heavy armor replaced with something lighter. Although there was still a short defensive bar on his chest, it was unmistakable who the Jaeger was.

“Romeo Blue?”

“Yes sir, the one and only.” Romeo's bright green optics in the yellow visor beamed with a smile. “I was transferred here to the library after my service to assist with civilian work. I've always enjoyed the quiet of books and libraries. If you need any assistance I'll be glad to help you.”

Herman blinked in a bit of shock at the polite manor of the Jaeger. He never actually met any of the mecha after the...incident. To be honest he was rather afraid of the robots since he programmed their base AI for fighting. To interact with one in such a casual mannor made the thin young man unsure.

“Ah, yes. Of course. But as I was just telling Mr. Schwartz, that won't be necessary.” Herman took the book from the Jaeger, looking for any weapons.

“Actually, since this is Romeo's room, he will be assisting you. Romeo, take care of Doctor Gottlieb.” The man smiled and walked away.

Hermann may have been a Doctor of Physics and Theoretical Mathematics, but he was still an eighteen year old boy and his face turned quite red at the gall of the librarian.

“Of all the NERVE!” Herman hissed glaring and cursing in German at the man.

“Mr. Schwartz is correct, though, Dr. Gottlieb,” Romeo Blue said as he worked to organize the books on the tables. “And he isn't doing it because he thinks you are incapable of performing duties while here. He is doing it because he doesn't with to see you injured any more. Knowing your limitations is the best part to getting over an injury.”

“What would you know about that?” Hermann asked rather bitterly before stabbing at the chalkboard with his chalk.

Romeo frowned and looked at the young doctor and gave a soft huff of hot air from his vents in a sigh.

“You would be surprised Doctor. The only reason I was...reassigned was because of an injury to my power core.” The stabbing noise of the chalk slowed. “With mark-1's, we don't have replacement cores, they're hard wired with our programming and our AI. A Kaiju swarm near Seattle broke through the defensive walls. I was on the front lines and one of the Kaiju managed to grab me by my middle. Punctured the power lines to my weapons and cracked my core.

“We won, but when they went to repair me, they realized that the core was compromised. I couldn't produce the power needed to wield my weapons. They repaired it so I can perform normal tasks, but I can't fight. But in a way I don't find it a limitation. I have helped with research since then, even back at the Shatterdome in Seattle.” Romeo looked up to Hermann who was looking at him.

“I...don't see how that has any merit to my situation.” Hermann said evenly, doing his best to keep from thinking of Romeo as anything but a robot.

“I know I cannot fight anymore, and so I don't put myself into situations where I am in danger. I stay in a library and help researchers. But, if I were to find myself in a dangerous situation, I would not do myself harm by denying any assistance or concern someone has for me. Do I miss fighting Kaiju and protecting the people I care about? Yes, but I am still able to help in a different way.” Romeo looked at Hermann with a gentle and patient pair of optics.

Hermann frowned a bit as he observed the four foot robot. Perhaps the programming he made for the Jaeger base was not what drove them after all.

“Well, I suppose that there is a little bit of...familiarity between us. I didn't realize that the AI cards developed for the Jaegers had such a capacity for such elasticity.”

Romeo smiled a bit with his optics and chuckled. “I feel that you will learn a lot about what programming can and cannot define in the Jaegers you helped develop, Doctor.” There was an impish sparkle in the Jaeger's optics when Hermann looked at him.

“You are a very strange...robot, Romeo.”

“I shall take that as a compliment, Doctor. I hope that we can both learn from each other during your stay here. Will you accept my assistance?” the blue mech asked as he rose a hand to offer in a hand shake.

Hermann Gottlieb nodded and took the hand. Six month's later he would look back on his previous thoughts and laugh.

“Ah! Doctor Gottlieb! You are a stubborn man, aren't you?” Romeo said with a sigh as he walked over to the young man and took the stack of physics books.

“I didn't want to bother you, Romeo. You seemed rather engrossed in your own studies. And...I must admit I was hoping that I wouldn't have to tell you that this would be my last day here.” Hermann looked at the small robot who had become not only his assistant in the massive library office, but also his friend. He would even dare to say an equal considering the robot's intelligence.

“What do you mean?” Romeo blinked and carried the books over to the young man's table next to the massive chalkboards.

Hermann sighed and sat down, looking at Romeo. “I'm transferring to a different university as soon as I finish this doctoral dissertation. I'll be working more closely with some researchers in the strange anomalies in the Pacific Ocean. I have enjoyed your company these past months, Romeo and your assistance. If there was a way to have you accompany me I would jump at it.”

Romeo's eyes fell slightly and his shoulders slumped. “I have enjoyed your company as well, Doctor. I wish that this wasn't farewell either. To be honest, you have been the only one to use the room. Most other students prefer the smart boards and other advanced technology to the chalkboards.” He looked up again and took the doctor's hand in his own. “Promise me you won't forget me, Hermann. Most people do other than Mr. Schwartz. I wish you well in your research, if you ever need a second pair of eyes, I'd be glad to find a way to stay in contact.”

Hermann smiled and nodded. “I shall not forget you Romeo. I would be a poor friend if I did. And I most certainly will stay in contact! Sometimes I have felt like you were the only one to really understand me. But for now, we have work to do. I'm very close to figuring out that formula for the Kaiju swarms, I know it.” Smiling brightly Hermann and Romeo brushed off the final goodbyes for later and got to work.

After a month in his new university, Hermann Gottlieb quickly missed the company of his chalkboards, leather books and the blue Jaeger who had become his friend back home in Berlin. Although America was a fine place to study, Hermann was a fish out of water.

It was when he received a knock at the door to the library room he had holed himself up in for his research that brought Hermann out of his slump of loneliness.

“Yes? What is it?” he hissed as he continued along writing in chalk on the ONLY chalkboard he could find in the whole college.

“I do hope you didn't carry all those books up here on your own, Doctor,” a familiar voice said.

“I told you, Romeo, I don't need assistance all the...Romeo?!” Hermann spun around and stared at the blue Jaeger standing in the door. “Mien Gott! How the devil did you get here?!”

“Your friend, Newton, and Mr. Schwartz worked to transfer my civilian work to you specifically, sighting my unique skills and, you may hate it but it's the truth, to be your physical assistant. As far as the PPDC is concerned, I am now your own personal Jaeger.” Romeo handed over the letters he held, one from each Newton and Mr. Schwartz, to Hermann.

The stoic German young man smiled and hugged the Jaeger close, glad to have a piece of home in a strange country.


	6. Raleigh and Yancy Becket and Mako Mori

Chapter Six: Raleigh and Yancy Becket and Mako Mori

“People are saying that the Jaegers are encouraging violence with the kids that own them,” Yancy said leaning back against the arm of the recliner he was sitting sideways in.

“That's crazy, Gipsy doesn't make us violent! Well...at least not any more than we were.” Raleigh smirked a bit at his brother as he was trying to clean out the gunk from Gipsy's shoulder.

“They just don't understand the bond we have, y'know?” Gipsy said flinching slightly and turning to the ten year old digging at her shoulder. “Easy! There's a wire in there y'know!”

“Sorry.”

The past two years had been hard on the brothers, and even Gipsy by extension. Their mother had died of cancer and their father had practically abandoned them after the funeral, leaving the two in the hands of a foster family.

They were nice, they let them do as they wished for the most part. Wandering around town was fine considering they had Gipsy with them to protect them from any Kaiju that may get through the defenses of the town. But it was hard for the boys to get used to longer days all year round. They were far from Alaska and the place where they grew up.

The only positive thing about being moved away from Anchorage, is that they now lived in the very city where Jaeger Rangers were trained. They were in the middle of the action.

The city had walls that were six feet high, with a few watch-towers spread between that reached to ten feet. Of course what they relied on the most was the advance scanners and computers that could pick up the unique signatures of the Kaiju.

“Wanna head out to the Wall and do some recon when you're done fixing up Gipsy's shoulder?” Yancy sat up and put the tablet down, grinning at his little brother and their Jaeger.

“He's almost done. I think there was just a loose bolt or something,” Gipsy Danger said looking at her open shoulder joint.

“Yeap! Just gotta get some oil back in the joint and we'll be good to go!” Raleigh smiled and got out a bit of oil for the Jaeger's shoulder and then helped her put on the shoulder armor again. “How's that feel Gip?” He cleaned off his hands on a rag.

The Jaeger smiled with her optics and nodded her gratitude. “Feels great! Thanks Rals!” Gipsy stood up and rolled her shoulder before making some punching motions, testing her range.

The brothers were surprised how much work a Jaeger was, but with Gipsy able to tell them what was wrong ninety-nine percent of the time, it was mostly just mechanical work. It also allowed them both to bond even closer with the blue warrior.

“Sweet! Let's get some sandwiches made and head out.”

Gipsy took the oil and tools and put them back in the tool kit, smiling as they headed into the kitchen. She cleaned off her shoulder armor and her hands with the same rag that Raleigh had used. She had made a promise to their mother before she passed, that Gipsy would look after the boys. Gipsy would do everything in her power to protect them, make sure they were safe and grew up to the the best Rangers the PPDC had ever seen.

Yet the Jaeger worried at times. She was just one mech and the two boys were rather a handful. Thankfully, Yancy was growing up to be a fine young man. Thirteen and he was helping out, mostly with small things but he was looking after Raleigh, when he wasn't trying to get into just as much trouble as his brother.

“Hey Gipsy, let's go! Maybe we'll get lucky and see a Kaiju outside the walls!” Yancy smiled and walked out, dragging the wheeled cooler behind him.

Worry slipped Gipsy's processor as she grinned and cracked her knuckles. “Hey, as long as I get to kick it's ass, or scare it off, I'm good.” Gipsy chuckled eagerly and followed.

“That's our Jaeger!” Raleigh smirked and walked out the door, leaving a note for their foster parents. They were more like an aunt and uncle really.

The trio walked toward the closest wall, along the main road that was closest to their home. Gipsy was flanked by either boy, Raleigh on her right, Yancy on her left.

When they arrived at the gate, always open unless the signals from the sirens of a Kaiju swarm was in the area, they walked out and leaned up against the outside wall as they got comfortable for a stay out at the guard-wall.

The time passed contently between the three of them. Half the time Raleigh was up on the six foot wall, with binoculars to his eyes, watching for any sign of Kaiju that may come their way.

Yancy was busy helping Gipsy work out a few new moves against her shadow on the wall. He was much more of a trainer, keeping the Jaeger up on any new fighting techniques he could come up with.

“Hey...looks like we got movement on the road,” Raleigh said from his perch trying to zoom in on the truck moving in.

“Kaiju?” Gipsy said with a slightly manic grin before her audios picked up the sound of an engine. “Nope, Ford 150...damn.” Gipsy sighed and walked near the road, looking at the growing vehicle.

“Toss me the binoculars, Rals,” Yancy requested. He caught them and focused in on the vehicle. “Looks like they're moving in. They've got a U-haul. Guess we know who bought the house down the street.” Yancy smirked a bit.

“Sweet! Think they'll have a Jaeger? I could use a sparring partner, not that I don't like sparring with you guys...” Gipsy grinned and looked at the two boys as the car finally came closer.

Mako looked out the window as her adopted father drove them toward the center of the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps and the Jaeger program.

“Don't look so worried, Mako,” Stacker said softly looking to his adopted daughter.

“I don't have any friends here, sensei. What if they don't like me or Tango?” she asked looking at the black man who had become her father for the past two years. She glanced into the back seat, where the silver mech was sitting looking out the window curiously.

“I'm positive, Mako.” Stacker said with a smile to his daughter. “You are a bright girl, and I know that the other children will flock to be your friend.”

“What about Tango?” she asked with a worried tone in her young voice.

“Ms Mako, don't worry about me.” Tango said in a soft voice as he leaned forward to pat her small arm with his hand. “I'll be fine. I'm just an old Jaeger.” Tango's soft green optics in the yellow visor held a sad look.

“Hardly, Tango. Mark-1 or not, you're not heading to the junk yard on my watch. There are some of the best minds in the training center here for Jaeger programming.” Stacker looked at his Jaeger, his friend and brother-in-arms.

Tango shook his head and gave a soft chuckle before he looked again out the window. A pair of boys and a blue Jaeger stood by the road, behind them a cooler and a pair of binoculars.

“There's a Jaeger...” There was a change in his vocal tone. He twitched, holding his head. Tango fought to control the glitch, something similar to a seizure. Although Tango knew it was stupid, he couldn't help but wonder if his Ranger was going to junk him after all. The Blue Jaeger was clearly a Mark-3, more advanced than him in every way.

“Tango...” Mako turned in her seat, against her father's words to stay still. “There's nothing to be worried about. Sensei promised you that we would fix you. Even if they can't now, I will become a great Jaeger engineer and fix you up myself!” Mako smiled at him.

“And that's why you will have friends, Mako.” Stacker smiled and pulled up into the driveway of their new home, most of their belongings already having been shipped over. “Neither I nor Mako will give up on you, Tango. You are our Jaeger. And I need someone to look after Mako for me.”

Tango smiled and nodded. “Yes sir. I promise I will.” he said smiling as he unbuckled and got out of the car with them.

Raleigh, Yancy and Gipsy hurried back to their home, dropping off the cooler before heading down the street. Raleigh smiled and looked over the fence in the front and waved.

“Hey! Welcome to the Neighborhood!” he cried with a bright smile.

Mako turned around and saw the boys, blushing a little before walking over, Tango following her steps.

“Hello, I'm Mako.” She said softly before noticing the Jaeger behind them. “Oh my gosh! Is that a Mark-3?!” she squeaked rushing over to the fence, any shyness long gone at the sight of Gipsy.

“Yeah this is our Jaeger, Gipsy Danger. Woah, you have a Mark-1? Sweet.” Yancy smiled seeing Tango. “Oh right, I'm Yancy Becket and this is my little brother, Raleigh.”

“It's a pleasure to meet both of you. And yes, that's Coyote Tango. He's been my best friend since Sensei adopted me.” Mako smiled, looking up when Stacker Pentecost walked over. “This is my Sensei.” The young japanese girl smiled as Stacker put his hand on her shoulder.

“It's a pleasure to meet you boys. I’m Mr. Pentecost.” Stacker nodded his head to them before looking at his daughter. “Mako, Tango, why don't you two enjoy some time with these young men and their Jaeger.”

“Okay!” Mako smiled over at the brothers and the blue Jaeger who grinned back. She and Tango knew from that moment, the five would be nearly inseparable.


	7. Raleigh, Yancy, and Mako

Chapter Seven: Raleigh, Yancy and Mako

“So why are you guys here?” Raleigh asked as the five of them walked along the street toward a nearby park. He looked at Mako with a bright smile, glad that there was someone else around his age, his brother was getting to be a pain and all ‘I’m a teenager now’.

“For Tango.” Mako said, looking ahead as Gipsy and Tango conversed in front of them. “I'm going to become an engineer and I'm going to fix him and every other Jaeger who has glitch in their programming.”

“He has a glitch?” Yancy blinked and looked closer at the two mecha. “He seems fine to me.”

“It's...more like a brain-thing if compared to us,” Mako explained easily. “He has seizures at times when he's under a lot of stress. He and Sensei were fighting a kaiju swarm, when it began. He was one of the first to fight the swarm, so his programming is...very different compared with the newer Jaegers. No one has been able to repair him.

“But that will change! Sensei said that the best scientists are here and I'm going to become the greatest Jaeger Engineer ever!” Mako grinned and looked at the two boys.

“That's awesome! That will help so many Jaegers and Rangers! Maybe we'll be able to work together when we become Rangers. Yancy and I are going to be the best Rangers the world's ever seen! And Gipsy, well...she's going to be a legendary Jaeger!”

Gipsy glanced over her shoulder as she listened to the three talk. Her blue eyes smiled as she looked over to Tango.

“Mako is a very smart girl. You're a very lucky Jaeger, Tango.”

“I adore her. Stacker may be my Ranger, but Mako...Mako is like my daughter. We've only been together for two years as a family, but I couldn't imagine a time without her,” Tango laughed a little and looked ahead.

“I've been with Rals and Yance for two years too. They're...my brothers. That's the only way I can describe them. But I gotta look out for them, or else they'll get into trouble. Or maybe I get them into trouble, I haven't quite figured it out yet.” Gipsy grinned impishly as they finally got to the park. She paused and looked to the older Jaeger. “Tango, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Gipsy.”

“What's it like fighting Kaiju?” She asked as the trio of kids, well two kids and one teen, rushed to find something to entertain themselves with on the playground. She and Tango found a pair of swings and sat down.

“Well,” Tango began with a shrug. “It's not always glamorous. When I first came online, all I could think about was fulfilling my mission. Fighting Kaiju and protecting humanity. I met Stacker and he became my Ranger. But when Stacker and I finally got out there, it was scary.”

“You were scared?” Gipsy gasped, looking at the older Jaeger with wide optics. She hung onto every word that Tango spoke.

“Yeah. At first not for myself, but for Stacker. He was my priority after the Kaiju. Then, I got my first scar. And I felt pain for the first time.” Tango lifted up his arm to show Gipsy the long welding scar that ran under his arm. “Everyone in the Shatterdome, the Jaeger Station, said that we weren't suppose to feel pain.

“'Jaegers are machines built to fight off an intruding enemy. Their intelligence is only to allow them to make decisions on the field of battle. The fact that they have created bonds with certain Rangers is inconsequential.' That's what the lead engineer and mathematician said. Basically saying that no matter what we were machines. But when I felt that Kaiju crush my shoulder in it's claw...I realized that they were wrong. That's when I got scared.

“I want the Kaiju gone just as much as any other Jaeger or human, but that first fight made me realize that I was more than just a machine.” Tango put a hand on Gipsy's shoulder. “Don't live just for fighting, Gipsy. Live for your Rangers too.”

“I will, Tango, Sir.” She smiled a bit. “I'll enjoy every moment I have with Raleigh and Yancy.”

By the time the sun was low in the sky, Mako had been taken back home by her new neighbors and friends. She opened the door to her new home and smiled. It would take some getting used to, but the smell of her father's cooking was already making it feel like they never moved.

“We're back, Sensei!” she called, taking off her shoes before she left the front doorway and heading inside.

“Did you have a good time?” Pentecost asked, smiling at his daughter and Tango.

“Yes! Raleigh and Yancy took me down and showed me a park! I think Gipsy really liked being around Tango too, huh Tango?”

“I did, she's a very nice Jaeger. I hope I can help her get ready for when she becomes a member of the Corps.” Coyote Tango smiled and climbed up into a stool at the island of the kitchen, helping Mako up as well.

“I knew you would make friends, Mako. And I'm glad that you have made a new companion as well, Tango. I have a feeling Gipsy can learn quite a bit from you. They want to become Rangers, do they?”

“Yes. They say they are going to be the best Rangers ever. I think they can do it too.” Mako smiled and watched her father cook.

Pentecost smiled and finished the meal he had put together. It was a simple dish but one that he and Mako both enjoyed.

“Well then will have the best Engineer to help them as well, you know. Here we go, dinner is served Miss Mori. Hot sticky rice and a simple beef stir fry. And I did not forget about our Jaeger, either.” Pentecost chuckled and offered Tango a warmed fuel can.

Although the Jaegers were mechanical, like any machine (or living creature), they needed fuel. With no taste sensors there was nothing special about the fuel. The intakes were under their masks, at least in a majority of the designs for the Jaegers. It was less of a mouth and more of a simple 'gas tank' opening.

“Thank you, Stacker.” Tango laughed warmly and took the warmed fuel can, his mask sliding aside as he gently tilted the can back and let the warm liquid enter his fuel cells, enjoying the dinner with his family.

 

Raleigh, Yancy and Gipsy later that night were in their room, still shared between the three of them, reliving the day they had.

“I like her.” Raleigh smiled as he stared at the top bunk over him, where his brother lay.

“Me too, Mako is very smart, and she's going to help Tango,” Gipsy added from her own cot. Perhaps it was a personality quirk, or maybe even part of her programming, but Gipsy enjoyed being covered and laying on a small thin mattress. It was more of a futon really.

“I think you've got a crush, Rals,” Yancy laughed a bit. “I saw how you wouldn't keep your eyes off of her.”

“Shaddap Yancy!” Raleigh barked kicking the mattress on top of him.

“Hey, that's enough you two. No fighting,” Gipsy said as her bright optics glowed in the darkness. It was a common ending to the night, the two getting into some sort of argument before sleep.

“He started it, not me!” Yancy said sitting up a bit and looking at the blue Jaeger near the floor.

“I just think Mako's cool, that's all. I mean c'mon! She's gotta be smarter than most of the people in this town, well except her dad probably,” Raleigh defended, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I know, but that doesn't mean you two should fight. Mr. and Mrs. Dickson are across the hall. I don't think they wanna hear you guys fighting so late.” Gipsy sighed and stretched out, her visor going dim as her optical lenses shut down. “Besides, I'm tired. Tango said that while you guys are at school on Monday, he'll help me learn some of his moves for fighting Kaiju.”

“Urg...don't remind us. I don't wanna go back to school. Why don't we just drop out when we get to high school and join the Ranger Program?” Raleigh asked looking at the darkness above him.

“Because it'll still be three years before you get to high school. I don't wanna think about going into High school next year.” Yancy tried to hide the tremble in his voice.

“You'll do fine, old man.” Raleigh laughed and sat up to pat his older brother's shoulder. “But Gipsy's right. Let's get some sleep and think about all the awesome stuff we can do tomorrow before we GOTTA get our homework done.”

“You haven't done your homework yet? Geeze!” Gipsy groaned and covered her face with her hands. “You two just shut up and go to sleep, lazy bums!”

“Night 'mama' Gipsy!” the boys teased her. Gipsy didn't even need to take aim when she pelted them with two small pillows.


	8. Aleksis and Sasha

Chapter Eight: Aleksis and Sasha

“Hey Cherno, when is Aleksis going to be back again? I thought he said that he and his mom weren't going to be that long,” Sasha asked looking out the window.

“Papa said he would be back in an hour,” the Jaeger said, looking over the blocks he was playing with.

When Aleksis and Sasha first rescued Cherno Alpha from the alley he was in and fixed him up two years prior, they were ready to have talks with the Mark-1 hero, they weren't expecting him to have such horrible AI damage.

It took the two over an hour to finally realize what was wrong. They researched all of his battles until they found the information, and the welding scars on Cherno's head.

His head had been crushed in the jaws of a Kaiju, even as he killed it. It had damaged the processors and overloaded his AI card. The programmers were able to repair it, but when Cherno came back online, he wasn't the 'adult' from before the swarm. He was practically a child, a two year old that wanted nothing more than to cling to his rangers.

Less than a week later, he was turned off and junked from the very same Shatterdome training facility that he was found outside of. He had been in that alley for nearly two weeks before Aleksis spotted him.

Since then, working with the Jaeger daily after school, Aleksis and Sasha saw how quickly he was regaining his higher functions. Although it still made Sasha blush when he refereed to her as 'Mama' but she didn't have the heart to scold him for it.

“Uuuhhhg! It's been an hour already!” Sasha grumbled and got down from the window seat. She watched as Cherno blinked his large yellow optics at her.

“Papa be home soon, Mama,” Cherno said with a smile as he tilted his head and went back to building with the blocks.

“I know...but I'm really impatient. I want him to get back so we can start training more!” she sat down next to Cherno, really too old to be playing with blocks but she didn't care, and made a tower.

“We can train together, Mama!” Cherno said beaming. “A little time for both of us!” He looked at her and reached to hold her hand.

Sasha and Aleksis realized very quickly how much the Jaeger needed and adored physical contact. Although it took Sasha some time to get used to it, Aleksis was always allowing the Jaeger to hold his hands, hug him and practically sit in his lap.

“Well, I guess you're right,” Sasha said, holding the Jaeger's larger hand and smiling. “All right, let's go outside.”

Cherno's optics brightened and he stood up, careful not to knock over the building he made, looking vaguely like a Shatterdome facility. He walked with Sasha as she put on her shoes and walked outside.

The two quickly moved to the back yard of Aleksis's home and the shed. Cherno smiled and took a moment to watch a bird fly overhead before racing after Sasha.

“Let's see...what do we want to work on today...” Sasha looked over the tools and smiled. “How about we use some sticks?” she looked over and got two broom handles and offered Cherno one. “I hear it's how Rangers train to find their partners.” Sasha wasn't really sure if Cherno remembered much of his Rangers and trainers. She figured it was better that way.

“Okay!” Cherno took the broom handle and spun it when he exited. “I'll be careful not to break it. I know I'm stronger than I look, like Papa.”

“Yeah, I don't know what to do with that big giant lug-head.” Sasha shook her head. “He's almost six foot three now! If he doesn't stop growing then he's going to be a giant!” Sasha smiled and looked at Cherno. “Either that or I'm going to have to get a bigger box to stand on when I yell at him to stop growing.” She felt the weight of the broom handle and smiled. “Okay...let's see how we fit together Cherno!” She smiled and took a stance with the stick.

Cherno looked up and nodded taking a stance before swinging the stick down to make a strike. It was a strange feeling for him, as if he had done it before, and wasn't surprised when she blocked and moved to hit back.

The two moved back and forth across the back yard, their stacks making cracking noises in the air. Before long Sasha was panting and slowing down, even as Cherno seemed to be putting in more complex moves. It wasn't until he spun the stick and moved to strike at her head, stopping inches from her that the Jaeger snapped back to himself.

“Mama! I...I'm so sorry!” Cherno squeaked and fidgeted, looking at her and dropping the broom handle and walking over. “I...don't know why I did that.” he said hanging his large head in shame at himself.

Sasha was still in shock before she looked at him, reminded that Cherno was no off-the-assembly-line Jaeger but one who had already seen battle.

“No, don't be upset, Cherno.” She gently hugged him, frowning. “You're a fighter. You're meant to kill Kaiju. It's okay. I'm proud that you pulled back,” she said softly, looking at him with soft blue eyes.

“But...I could have really hurt you! You're...you're my Mama, I don't want to hurt you.” Cherno's bright yellow optics squinted and he hugged her close, being incredibly gentle with her. “I...don't want to make you leave me.”

Sasha blinked and looked at him in shock. She shook her head and pulled away to look at him.

“Cherno. Aleksis and I will NEVER leave you! You are our Jaeger. We'll be with you forever.” the young girl smiled and hugged him again. “Now how about we go and sit on the steps so we can give Aleksis a hard time coming home?” She smiled and headed to the front yard, Cherno following.

When Aleksis came home with his mom, he saw Sasha and Cherno waiting for him on the front porch. He was glad to see his friend there, and their Jaeger, especially considering what would happen within a few weeks.

“You're WHAT?!” Sasha stared up at the twelve year old boy who towered over her. Her fists clenched and relaxed before she stormed off.

“Mama's getting the box,” Cherno whispered looking at Aleksis and fidgeting. He didn't look too happy either, but he wasn't angry. He was crushed.

Aleksis stood in the shed in the back with his head hanging. He hated breaking the news, but it was out of his hands.

“Sasha...I don't want to move but...my Mom isn't safe. He's been coming around again and...she needs to be safe.” Aleksis frowned when Sasha came out and put a box on the ground and stood on top of it, barely coming up to his nose.

“It's not fair! You can't move! Just beat up that ass! Break his arm or something! Make sure he won't come back! You can't MOVE!” Sasha pulled her arm back and weakly punched him in the arm, tears threatening to fall down her face.

“Sasha...it's too late.” he said with a frown. “Mom's already packing up and we have a place already.”

“What about Cherno?!” she squeaked out as she looked him over.

Cherno glanced up when he was mentioned but just sat on the tool bench and kicked his legs.

“He'll stay with you.” Aleksis said without a pause.

“Papa?” Cherno looked up and whined.

“What? But...but he's OUR Jaeger! We were going to become Rangers together!” Sasha couldn't help the tears on her cheeks now. “Cherno is...our jaeger together.”

“Sasha.” Large hands gently rested on her shoulders. “I want you to keep care of him okay? He needs to look out for you so you don't get expelled from school. I promise I'll keep in touch. I'll e-mail you and write you.” Aleksis looked over to Cherno and then walked over to hug him. “You gotta take care of her for me okay? You take care of Mama for me okay? She gets into a lot of trouble.”

“I don't want you to go Papa. Please don't go.” Cherno buried his head into Aleksis's chest his frame shaking a bit.

“I have to look after my Mama, Cherno. I gotta protect her. If I could I'd bring you and Sasha with me and we'd never be apart again, ever!” Aleksis hugged the mech close.

“You...you promise you're not going forever?” Cherno looked at him and then glanced over at Sasha who was sitting on her box shaking and trying not to cry any harder.

“I promise. I'll come back as soon as I can. But you'll hear from me all the time, I promise.” Aleksis looked at Sasha and smiled just a bit.

Sasha sniffed and cleared her eyes with her hand, getting a bit of dirt on her face.

“You better damn e-mail me every week! You're the only good lug-head in the entire city and you gotta leave.” She swallowed and sniffed again before looking at Cherno. “If you don't come back. I'm taking Cherno and finding you. Got it?”

“Got it.” Aleksis looked at them and smiled. “We still have a few weeks together anyway, so don't get so upset. We got time to train together too.”

“Good.” Sasha broke her rule and hugged the tall boy. “Don't ever speak of this again,” she muttered into his shirt.

Cherno smiled and got down from his seat on the table to hug them both, making a soft rumbling noise as he was held close by both Sasha and Aleksis.

After three weeks, Sasha stared after the car as Aleksis and his mother drove away, Cherno waving at his side. She didn't know that she wouldn't see him for another two years.


	9. Chuck and Herc Hansen

Chapter Nine: Chuck and Herc Hansen

Hercules “Herc” Hansen had been a Ranger since the PPDC was founded six months after the first Kaiju Swarm. He and his brother Scott were one of the first to work with the Jaegers on a one on one basis.

Lucky Seven was their Jaeger, a spicy femme who was also rather motherly toward the two of them. For three years, Seven was a part of his family, welcomed by his wife Angela and their son, Chuck. He still remembered the first time Chuck saw Seven.

_“WOW! She's ours really? We can keep her?” Chuck was five and almost immediately attached to Seven's hip._

“Yes. Uncle Scott and I may still have to fight with her at our side but she will stay with us.” Herc smiled at his son and Seven.

“Herc has told me so much about you back at the barracks, Chuck. I'm glad I finally can meet you.” Seven smiled and gently patted his head. Already it looked like she was going to be Chuck's nanny/big sister/additional mother.

Herc didn't know how Chuck was going to take the news. Even he didn't believe what had happened in that swarm attack. He couldn't stand to think of what Seven had done to save them, but it still rushed through his mind.

_“Seven! Fall back! They're too strong!” Herc cried taking another shot at several Kaiju that were advancing down Sydney's main street._

“If they take main street they'll be able to take down the power grid and get to the schools!” Seven cried back before she was taken. “We have to take out the leader! And I think I've got the bastard in my sights.”

“Seven! Don't you dare!” Scott cried as he took out another of the smaller kaiju when a larger one appeared in the middle of swarm. The brothers knew what their Jaeger was planning.

“If you have the shot, you take it Herc!” she replied before charging, drawing her blades and slicing her way toward the large Kaiju.

It was an hour after the fight that they finally found her frame, crushed under the weight of the alpha Kaiju. Herc and Scott got to her just before her powercell finally gave out.

“Lucky...c'mon you gotta stay with us,” Scott said as the pulled her out from under the monster.

“Too late for me...” she said, her vocal processors glitching and full of static. “But...not for you guys.” her soft green optics looked up to Herc and smiled weakly. “In the desk drawer...under the computer, there's something I left for Chuck.”

“Seven...you can give it to him, all right?” Herc said holding her hands. “The engineers are on their way they'll fix you up. You can give Chuck his present.”

“Hehehe...” Seven patted his hand weakly even as she laughed softly. “I'm sorry I couldn't watch him grow up. But maybe...maybe someone else will. I'll miss you boys.” Her voice began to give out and by the time the engineers got there, she was gone.

“Seven...Seven's gone son,” Herc said softly when his son asked where the Jaeger was. “She took out the leader of the swarm to keep the city safe on her own.”

“But...but she said she'd always come back...” Chuck said swallowing hard and looking at his father. “Can't they fix her up? Can't she come back?!”

“Her power cells were destroyed, her processor barely held out to say that she wished she could see you grow up, son.” Herc held his son close, trying to keep himself from being as upset as he was.

Angela joined in the hug and rubbed Chuck's head.

“Charlie...Seven gave her life to save everyone. I know she would never have left if she had another option,” Angela said with a soft voice, easing Chuck's temper as she spoke.

“But...she was a Jaeger...Jaeger's can't die...” Chuck cleared his eyes, trying not to cry and failing.

“There's no such thing as Heroes in a world where they don't leave us too soon, Chuck.” Herc said rubbing his son's back. “Buck up, kid. Seven wouldn't want to see you so upset.”

The eight year old looked at his dad and nodded, trying to steel himself and nodded. “Okay Dad.” Chuck nodded and swallowed hard.

After Chuck went to bed that night, Herc finally moved down to the computer room and looked at the drawer. It took him a solid three minutes of sitting at the drawer before finally opening it.

Inside, on top of the scrap paper and old disks was an AI card and a flash drive. When he picked them up, he saw written on them was a name; 'Striker Eureka'. Herc furrowed his brows before turning on the computer and putting in the flash drive. As soon as it was read, a movie began to play.

“Is this thing on now? Gah, stupid camera...Herc your too damn tall.” The camera moved before it was finally focused on a familiar Jaeger. Lucky Seven had left him a message. “There we go. Hey Herc. I hate that I have to leave a message but, you know me, I take action in the field and I don't always think about the future. So if you're seeing this, it means I'm probably gone.”

“Stupid sheila,” he muttered leaning back, watching the video.

“I wanted to give Chuck his own Jaeger. Someone he could grow up with, because let's face it. We're warriors. And one day we won't come back. So...I programmed that AI you have in your hand.” Seven smiled with her green optics. “I guess you could say that...Striker's my son. I put a bit of me in him when I programmed him. Hopefully enough of the good parts to weigh out the bad ones.

“I'm sorry I had to leave so soon. But at least someone will be there to look after that Dingo of a boy you have.” She paused when she heard Herc's voice coming in the door. “Take care of Striker for me.” She said quickly before stopping the recording, leaving Herc alone in the silence of the computer room, the last gift Seven gave him in his hand.

Within two weeks, Striker Erueka's frame was brought home and he was turned online for the first time.

“So...Seven left him just for me?” Chuck said waiting as the clunky Mark-2 frame booted up.

“Yes she did. Striker is like her little boy, so you kind of have a brother, Chuck.” Angela smiled and looked up as Striker's unique head and bright orange visor lit up. A pair of brown eyes flickered online and he looked around.

“Hey...” Striker's voice was cocky but had a softness to it as well. When he saw Chuck he lit up. “I know you!” he chirped with a laugh. “Chuck right? I'm Striker!”

“Yeah! Sweet! You're body's a little clunky but we can fix it up so you'll be awesome.”

Herc looked at Angela and smiled, hugging her close. He didn't have words to say how happy he was that Chuck had a piece of Seven still with him to grow up. He wouldn't let anything happen to Striker on or off the field of battle.

Two years later, Herc would keep that promise, but break another.

Striker's body had been upgraded to a silver smooth form with twin blades on each arm. A prototype Mark-5. He had been training not only with Herc and Scott, but also with Chuck. The boy was determined to be a Ranger just like his father and uncle and spent every waking moment trying to find a way to make himself be an even better fighter.

They had been off duty when a swarm of shark-like Kaiju charged from Sydney Bay. In the terror of the fleeing people, Angela and Striker got separated from Herc and Chuck.

“Stay close to me Chuck!” Herc cried holding his son close as he pushed through the crowd, trying to find Angela and Striker in the crowd. “Angela! Striker!”

“MOM!!” Chuck clung to his father and then froze, hearing the blood chilling cries of the Kaiju. “Dad...! DAD!!” he screamed pulling at his dad's arm as he saw the knife head looking kaiju starting to storm through the crowd.

Herc pulled Chuck behind him, blocking him from the sight of the monsters. He heard the war cry of a Jaeger and the flashing, burning blades of Striker Eureka. He was in shock that the young Jaeger already was ready to fight and kill to defend the city.

“STRIKER!” Herc and Chuck were pushed back by the crowd. He couldn't push against them and risk being separated from Chuck. Herc looked down and picked up his son. “Mom will be okay, Striker's protecting her,” he whispered in a promise as he moved with the crowd.

“Mom...!” Chuck stared as he watched Striker fight the Kaiju. “Striker...” He clung to his father as they were pushed through the crowds until they found a place to hide and let them pass.

“Stay here,” Herc ordered before pushing his way back toward where he had seen the Kaiju. He didn't go far before he saw the other Rangers push in, Jaegers joining Striker as they fought back the horde of twenty-some Kaiju.

He glanced back to the alley that Chuck was peeking out from and moved back. “The Rangers are here.” he said standing back and keeping an eye out for any familiar forms.

After a short battle, the Kaiju moved on back toward the bay, and the Rangers followed, leaving Herc and Chuck to move forward to where they saw Striker.

He was standing in the middle of the road looking lost, but not moving away from a crumpled Kaiju. His blades were covered in the blue colored blood of the kaiju.

“STRIKER!” Chuck pulled from his father's arms and rushed to the Jaeger, only to stop in horror. When Herc ran after, he saw why.

“A-Angela?” Herc's heart dropped as he rushed forward and lifted her limp body. “Angela! Wake up Love! Come on! Wake up!”

“How...how could you?!” Chuck rounded on Striker, glaring at the Jaeger. “You were suppose to protect her!” he screamed.

“I...I tried Chuck, but there were-”

“You didn't try hard enough you failure! My Mom is DEAD because of you!” Chuck screamed even as Herc shut down and just rocked the body of his wife in his arms. “You should have gone for her, Dad!”

Striker stood silently, his optics confused as he watched Herc turn to his son with empty eyes. The young Jaeger made a distressed sound before looking down at his hands. He had failed his family.

 

After the funeral, Chuck walked over to Striker who hung back from the group. He hadn't spoken much after the swarm, and didn't even spend much time in the house, but rather in the garage. In his mind, he didn't deserve to be in the house after failing to keep Chuck's mom safe.

“Striker...?”

Striker hung his head, not looking at him as he tried to keep from breaking down. He knew he was going to be given away, maybe even just shut down and tossed away. He deserved it really.

“Striker I'm sorry.”

The Jaeger looked up in shock. “W-what...?”

“I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't dad's fault either I just...” Chuck felt his eyes well with tears and he hugged the Jaeger. “I”m so sorry I yelled at you! Please don't leave...please don't go.”

“I...I'm sorry I didn't save your mom. I promise it won't ever happen again! I won't go if...if you don't want me to.” Striker hugged him back shivering a bit. “I wish I could have done more.”

Chuck shook his head and hugged the Jaeger and looked up when Herc walked over.

“Dad...I'm sorry-”

“Don't, you don't have anything to be sorry for, Chuck.” Herc knelt down and hugged the two of them. “We're all we got.” He didn't say that he wished he could have done more to save his wife and mother of their son. “We gotta stick together.”

“Okay,” Chuck and Striker echoed together. They were all they had, and they needed to stick together.


	10. Newton and Hermann

Chapter 10: Hermann and Newt

The first time that Newt and Hermann met, it took Tacit and Romeo all their power to keep the two from trying to kill the other.

“Egotistical maniac!”

“Grandpa-dressing know it all!”

So much for that five year online relationship.

“Hermann, calm down come on,” Romeo said with a sigh as he pulled the mathematician away from Newton. “Take a deep breath. You've known Newton for a long time, is it really worth getting so upset about?” he asked as the two Jaegers took their respective scientists to other sides of the room.

“He...mien Gott! I never expected him to be so infuriating!” Hermann huffed and sat down, rubbing his leg from stress.

“You really didn't expect this? From everything I read with your e-mails and from what Tacit told me it seems pretty straight forward to his personality.” Romeo moved over to get a cup of tea from the desk in the lab that they had agreed to meet in at the PPDC shatterdome they would be working in within a month.

“Well...I didn't expect him to be so much of a Kaiju groupie,” Herman grumbled as he rolled the 'r' in groupie. “I mean he has Tattoos of them on his arms!”

“He's a biologist, he just appreciates the unique biology of the creatures. I'm sure he doesn't want to have one for a pet.” When he noticed Hermann's tight frown, Romeo sighed. “He does doesn't he?”

Tacit looked at Newton with little humor in his eyes. “You really know how to make friends don't you?” he said shaking his head and looking over at Hermann and Romeo. “I can't believe you sometimes.”

“It's not my fault he's so frustrating! Geeze it was never like this in the e-mails. Why'd he freak out with the tats too? Geeze...” Newton crossed his arms over his chest and glared toward Hermann and his Jaeger Romeo. “Least you and Romeo seem to get along.”

“I'd much rather see you and Hermann get along. We're Jaegers, I don't think anyone has ever heard of Jaeger's not getting along. You humans are so strange. You get along for five years and then you meet and want to kill each other.”

“I don't want to kill him...” Newt said softly.

“I don't know whether you're twenty or thirteen, half the time.” Tacit muttered looking at him. “You like him don't you?”

“Maybe.” Newton wouldn't admit it completely.

“You're impossible.” Tacit shook his head and glanced over at Romeo who shared his frustrated look. “Just sit and cool down and I'll see if I can't figure out how to clean up this mess you both made with Romeo.” The one Mark-1 walked over to Romeo and offered his hand.

“I'm...sorry about Hermann, I kind of expected better of him,” Romeo said as he shook Tacit's hand.

“It's all right. They're both rather eccentric young men. I honestly would be surprised if they did get along as well as when they write.” Tacit shrugged a bit and smiled just a little. “I think they...enjoy each others company more than they let on, though.”

“You too?” Romeo laughed a bit and smiled. “Well they will have to considering that they'll be working together in the same lab.”

“WHAT?!” the two cried when they heard what Romeo said.

“I didn't tell Newton yet.”

“I figured it would be best to have them meet first and then hopefully they would have hit it off well and they would take it better.” Romeo sighed and rubbed his helm a bit.

“I'm not working with this...maniac!” Hermann cried pointedly looking at Newt. “I demand order in my laboratories!”

“This guy is going to stuff up the entire vibe we got going in the labs from MIT, Tacit! He'll probably just want to play some old grand-pa music or shit! I thought he was cool!”

“Excuse me?! I thought you had at least two neurons to rub together but apparently all you do is watch anime and worship the ground that the Kaiju defile.”

“This is going to be a long LONG partnership,” Romeo whispered as he watched the two doctors get into another argument.

The prediction made by the blue Jaeger was only partly right. In reality, after three months the two scientists began to argue less in serious anger and it became more of a subtle joke. Although the haz-mat tape that split down the middle of the Shatterdome lab was slightly more serious. Boundries and all.

“Hey Hermann.” Newton broke the silence after a while one morning. He had a heavy backpack on, and Tacit knew what that meant long before he spoke.

“Yes, Newton?”

“Tacit and I are heading out to check the Kaiju traps I put up last night. Maybe I can finally test out those methods for Kaiju taming from Japan.”

Herman snapped his chalk in half when he heard that.

“You...are going to try and TAME a kaiju?!” he squawked looking at his lab partner.

“Well yeah! I mean there are reports that some people in Japan have been able to tame some smaller Kaiju when they aren't swarming. Think of what we could learn if we were able to have a live kaiju to study!” Newton's grin was infectious to everyone except Hermann.

“You are insane. Please tell me you're at least going to bring a gun or something in case you find a bigger one.”

“That's what I got Tacit for! I didn't make him brand new blades for nothing!” Newton smirked and looked at Tacit.

It had taken some convincing from the PPDC but Newton finally had permission to give Tacit a newly made pair of heated edge blades for his arms. Of course he wouldn't know that both Romeo and Hermann had put in good words for the Jaeger as well.

“Mien Gott...be careful you imbecile, I don't want to have to go out and find you with your damn leg caught in one of your own traps.”

Newton just smiled back at him. “I knew you cared, Herms. Don't worry I got my cell and I got Tacit. We'll be back for lunch. Hopefully with a new friend for the lab!”

“I'll make sure he doesn't get caught in his own traps, Doctor Gottlieb. I'm just glad he's bringing me this time. Last time he left without me and got lost.”

“I did not! I just...got turned around is all. Anyway, c'mon let's get going Tacit.” Newton smiled and shouldered his back pack, holding a few folding cages and a walking stick.

“Do be careful, Newton,” Hermann said softly looking after him. Newton paused at the door and smiled over his shoulder.

“I will.”

The two Jaegers didn't miss the soft smile that was shared between them. They were less than subtle at times with their affections.

Newton smiled when they arrived in the forest outside of the walls of the town that held the Shatterdome they were stationed. Tacit was at his side looking over the woods as they walked. As usual he was silent, just observing the area for any Kaiju that may sneak up on them.

“All right, we're coming up on the first trap.” Newton smiled eagerly only to have his hopes dashed as all that was in the trap was a poor raccoon. “Sorry little guy,” he said softly, opening the cage once he put on a pair of thick leather gloves. “Go on home.”

“You're rather good with animals,” Tacit observed with a brightness to his voice. He watched as the raccoon ran off to find a place to sleep as the morning sun broke through the canopy.

“I've always liked animals. I had a frog for a long time when I was a kid, then a few fish that I would feed in the creek behind my house. I always wanted to know how they lived.” Newton smiled and re-set the trap with some fresh food. “Hopefully the Kaiju around here will be interested in the food in the daytime.”

“So I take it we'll be coming back this evening or tomorrow morning?” Tacit asked as he watched.

“Yeah, probably this evening. I may have to put some trail cameras up out here to see where the Kaiju may be.” Newton smiled and stood up, brushing off his hands and pants and then stood up and grabbed his walking stick from Tacit's hands. “Onto the next!”

The next two traps were either empty or hadn't gone off. Newton's bright spirits had dulled dramatically by the time they reached the last trap.

“Wait.” Tacit gently put his hand to Newton's arms. “Do you hear that?”

“Yeah...” Newton's smile came back. “It's a Kaiju!” Against the advisement of Tacit, Newton ran off toward the last trap.

“Newton! You're going to drive me to a shut down,” Tacit grumbled and hurried after him, hoping that the creature was in the trap, and not loose.

His worries were unfounded, as Newton was squatting down in front of a large humane trap. Newton was beaming and he looked up happily.

“I think I'm going to call her Otachi.” Newton looked back at the trap where a long lizard-like Kaiju was hissing a bit at him, puffing up and making quite a lot of noise. The biologist couldn't be happier.


	11. Aleksis Kaidonovsky and Yancy Becket

Chapter 11: Aleksis Kaidonovsky and Yancy Becket

Aleksis was used to being stared at. When he arrived at the town that housed the HQ of the Pan-Pacific Defence Corps, everyone stared as he got out of the car. Then he was only twelve. Now at almost fourteen, Aleksis was nearly six foot ten. He towered over everyone in school.

Before when he first met Sasha, he had barely been six feet, and eight years old. He was ridiculed constantly. When Sasha first yelled at him for not standing up for himself he broke down and cried in a corner. He really didn't know why Sasha decided he was no longer a target but he never looked back at it. Sasha would glare at his would-be bullies and they would back down, then she would punch him in the arm for being a wuss.

He missed Sasha, even when she punched him, as he walked through the hallways to his next class. Depressed and not paying attention, he nearly bowled over another student.

“Ah! I'm-I'm so sorry!” Aleksis squeaked out, looking down at the rusty-blond haired boy who was sitting on his ass.

“Geeze I didn't think a wall could move! Oh...hey...” Yancy chuckled and looked up at the wall of a man (seriously he had to be eighteen with that height) “I should have watched where I was going.”

“No it's my fault,” Aleksis replied helping Yancy up and picking up his books and handing them back. “I'm sorry I ran into you.” he said softly.

“It's all right.” Yancy smiled a bit. “Name's Yancy. I know I've seen you around, but, never thought to ask your name.”

Aleksis blinked a bit in shock and smiled. “Aleksis. It's all right, I don't really expect many people to ask my name. I...have heard the rumors everyone spreads about me.” he frowned and looked at the ground, not meeting Yancy's eyes.

“Y'mean the ones that said you were expelled from Russia cuz ya killed a guy?”

Aleksis groaned and facepalmed. “That one's new. No, I didn't kill anyone. My mother and I weren't safe anymore. My father...he is a very bad man.”

Yancy frowned but then smiled with a chuckle. “Hey don't worry about it man. When's your lunch period?”

“Uh...fifth period.” Aleksis said after double checking his schedule on his phone.

“Sweet! Come sit with me at lunch then. See ya in a bit!” Yancy smiled easily and patted the other on the shoulder as he headed for his class.

Aleksis couldn't help but smile a bit as he walked to his class, glad to have a friend finally in school.

By the time fifth period came around, Aleksis was in good spirits. He looked around before spotting Yancy at a table. He waved shyly before walking over and sitting in a chair awkwardly.

“Hey.”

“Hey Aleksis!” Yancy smiled and put some of his work away. “I dunno if I'll get used to High School.”

“Me neither. It was easier back home. Of course I had a friend to help me out with some of the more difficult math work.” Aleksis dug out his sandwich and took a bite to it.

“Do you miss living in Russia?”

“Da, I lived in a suburb of Moscow with my mother. My friend Sasha, she stood up for me a lot, she was my next door neighbor. Fiery little wild cat. She punched me in the arm whenever I was too much of a wuss for her.” Aleksis laughed warmly and drank the chocolate milk his mother had packed.

“That's cool. Hopefully you'll be able to see her again. Do you like Jaegers?”

Aleksis perked up and nodded.

“Da! Yes! I had a Jaeger back home! Well actually, Sasha and I shared him, I left him with her to look after her. I miss Cherno as well.

“You won't believe it, we found Cherno Alpha tossed away in an alley because of a glitch in his AI after his last fight.” Aleksis said with a sad shake of his head.

“No way! Geeze, I could never think of doing that to Gipsy. Hey! If you're a little homesick, my brother and I have a Mark-3 Jaeger, Gipsy Danger, if you want to come over and meet her. Our neighbor down the street has one too, a Mark-1. I bet Mako wouldn't mind if you came over either. We're all kinda misfits.”

“You...wouldn't mind?” Aleksis asked as he lowered his milk from his mouth. “I'd love to! I...don't have many friends, but I like to think that you are my first friend here.”

Yancy grinned and nodded. “Of course I'm your friend. People have the wrong impression about you, Aleksis. You're a pretty good guy. How about you come over after school?”

“Thank you. I would love to! I will have to call my mom and let her know.”

“No problem. I'll meet you out by the flag staff.”

Aleksis walked to Yancy's house with him, stopping at the secondary school to pick up his brother and their neighbor Mako. It took only a minute or so for Raleigh and Mako to warm up to Aleksis and before long they were laughing and talking together like they knew each other for years.

“Gipsy is going to love meeting you!”

“And Tango too! He'll love to hear that Cherno is doing okay. I heard that they fought together on a mission or two.” Mako smiled and looked up when they reached the end of their street, the two Jaegers waiting patiently at the corner.

“Hey guys! What took you?” Gipsy said before looking up at Aleksis. “Woah...he's freaking TALL!”

“Gipsy, Tango, this is Aleksis. He's my classmate.” Yancy said with a smile. “Yeah, he is pretty tall. He could be, like a basketball player or something.”

“No...I'm not very fast. Maybe a wrestler, but I want to be a Ranger.” Aleksis smiled at them. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Gipsy, Tango. They all have told me so much about you. I will have to tell Cherno about you when I e-mail Sasha tonight.”

“Cherno...as in Cherno Alpha?” Tango blinked and brightened up. “You have Cherno Alpha? I thought he was decommissioned! I haven't seen him in so long!”

“Yes. He...he has a damaged AI chip, he is re-learning a lot of things. I am sure he remembers you though, Tango.” Aleksis smiled as they walked.

“Geeze! A real hero. It's too bad we couldn't meet him! Maybe you can introduce us over a skype call or something?” Gipsy grinned and bounced on her feet as she walked.

“S-sure!” Aleksis was a little overwhelmed with how quickly he was accepted int the strange group of friends, but it was a good feeling.

Aleksis went home and wrote a three page e-mail to Sasha, excitedly telling her about meeting his new friends, and of course all about the two jaegers. He made sure to include some of the pictures that Mako had took of the group with her father's help in the back yard. He knew that Sasha had been worried that he would be alone, so the picture would help ease her worries. Although he missed Sasha and Moscow, he felt like he was at least a little closer to home.


	12. Sasha and Cherno

Chapter 12: Sasha and Cherno

Sasha didn't tell Aleksis her own news, not wanting to ruin the big surprise or anything. For a good three months Sasha and her parents had been planning on moving since her father finally got a job with the PPDC. It had taken some convincing, but eventually she managed to get them to find a house where Aleksis and his mother had moved.

“So we will be close to Papa again!” Cherno cried happily, smiling as he watched everyone pack, even helping to pack up the heavier things.

“Yeap! And we'll get to meet his new friends and meet their Jaegers.” Sasha smiled at him and continued to pack up some of her items to be moved.

“It will be very nice to see Tango again,” Cherno said with a smile, taping up some boxes. “I remember bits and pieces of him from before, but I know I will be very happy to see him.”

“I'm sure he'll be glad to see you as well. And so will Aleksis. He's going to be so excited! I can't wait to see his face when we show up. He better not have gotten any taller, the ass-hat.”

“Why are you always so mean to Papa?” Cherno asked as he looked at Sasha.

“I'm not mean. It's just....” she sighed and shrugged. “It's weird. I've known Aleksis forever and it's just how we talk. I don't mean anything when I call him an ass-hat or stuff. It's just...how I tell him I care.” The girl blinked and looked over at Cherno when she said that and gave him a firm look.

“You love Papa don't you?” he said squinting his optics playfully.

“I will gut you if you tell him any of that!” she squeaked out shoving the Jaeger weakly. Cherno just laughed at her and took the boxes out to her parents to pack up in the POD.

After a month of packing up and making sure everything was all set and cleaned, Sasha grabbed her bag for the train and looked at Cherno. She and Cherno would be riding the train together as her parents drove their cars down. With Cherno at her side, Sasha's parents were not worried about anything happening to their little girl.

“Ready to go?” She asked as Cherno grabbed his own rolling bag filled with his favorite items and most precious things.

“Yes! Let's go and see Papa!” Cherno laughed happily and held her hand, pulling her to the bus to get to the train.

Sasha laughed and nodded. “Right! Let's go!” She paid their bus fare and climbed aboard, smiling as the two of them sat near the back of the bus.

“I've never been on a train before, have you Mama?” Cherno asked when they sat down, the Jaeger looking out the window with wide optics.

“Yeah, they're a lot of fun. My parents took me on a train ride when I was little for Christmas. It was so cool watching the snow fly by.” Sasha smiled and watched as the bus pulled away from the stop and out into traffic. “You'll like it Cherno.”

“I hope so! I kind of look like a train, don't you think? Papa always said I did.” Cherno chuckled and knelt on the seat as he watched out the window. “Papa will be happy to see us, right?”

Sasha looked at him and pulled the jaeger into an awkward headlock, rubbing her first over the top of his head.

“Of course he will goof-ball! Aleksis constantly says how much he misses you and me, he'll be really glad to see us.” She smiled and leaned back, letting him go and leaning back for the ride. “I know he will.” She wouldn't admit that she was a little worried that he wouldn't be happy to see them.

When they saw the train, Cherno immediately wanted to take a picture of the engine, amazed at it's design. Aleksis had always gotten him toy trains for gifts to play with, the Jaeger deeply interested in the railroad. It also seemed to help his AI return to normal as well.

“Okay okay, we gotta get on, Cherno!” Sasha pulled the Jaeger along as well as their bags. The last calls were being sent and the two rushed to get into the passenger car.

Cherno was the one who finally found an open room and the two got comfortable for the two day trip. They would arrive a few hours before their parents, but Sasha had her own pair of keys and the movers had put in the beds and larger furniture into the house. She doubted they would want to go to bed anyway. Sasha wanted to see Aleksis.

The ride was full of excitement for both of them. The sleeper car big enough for both of them as they enjoyed the ride. Cherno barely let his optics leave the windows as he watched the countryside fly by. He was full of exclamations and questions which Sasha did her best to answer but eventually she got tired and brought out an old game-boy to play her video-games. Sleep was comfortable for her, knowing that Cherno was right next to her and watching out for her safety.

Sasha ate her dinner the next day quietly, watching as Cherno napped with his head against the window. She smiled and shook her head before she woke him carefully.

“Hey, don't get too comfy yet, Cherno. Just a couple more hours then we'll be home.” Sasha said as he stirred.

“Okay...I'm awake.” Cherno laughed a bit and rubbed at his optics to keep himself awake.

It wasn't even two hours later that Cherno saw the lights of the massive Shatterdome.

“Look! We're almost there!” Cherno was bouncing on his peds in front of the window as they saw the peninsula that they would be living on.

Sasha smiled and stood next to him as the train began to slow down. She felt so excited to be moving near where Aleksis was again. She couldn't wait to see the big lug's face when they showed up at his door.

“He's going to be so surprised!” Sasha smiled and put her game away, starting to get her bag together.

“He is! I can't wait to see Papa and all his new friends!” Cherno put the train set away that he had been playing with back in his bag, being very careful with them.

Sasha smiled at him and nodded. “Me neither. We'll drop by at the house and put our stuff in and then find him, kay?”

Cherno Alpha nodded and sat next to her on the bench kicking his feet excitedly. The two watched the scenery slowly come to a halt and the train depot come into view.

Sasha was excited to see the taxi her parents ordered for her was waiting for the two of them. She got in and the kind cabbie drove them swiftly to their new house, making sure they were inside before he drove off to his next fair.

The house was larger than the small home they had back in Russia, and although it was full of the larger furniture that had been moved in and was still wrapped in packing, it felt like home.

Sasha smiled and rushed to her room, smiling and putting her bag down before flopping onto her bed, sighing. She was tired, but there was still light in the sky and she was determined to see Aleksis.

“Let's go and surprise that big goof.” Sasha smiled and left the house with him, locking the house behind her as she walked down the street.

Cherno looked around the neighborhood, seeing evidence of Jaegers living practically everywhere in the town. He kept looking up to the large Shatterdome training facility eagerly. He knew that with Aleksis and Sasha he would one day be back on the front lines. He was already much better than when they first rescued him from the alley.

He looked up when he noticed they were on the same street that Aleksis lived, perking up and chomping at the bit to run down the street to the house he could see from here. He looked at Sasha before she nodded and raced him down the street.

When they arrived, Sasha pulled Cherno around to the side of the house, sneaking carefully as she looked for Aleksis's window. He always had that wind chime in it and it wasn't long before she spotted it. There was no snow on the ground, but there were small pebbles.

“Don't break the window...!” The mark-1 Jaeger whispered worriedly looking at the rocks in her hand.

“I've done this a million times, I know what I'm doin'.” Sasha smiled and tossed a pebble at the glass, hearing it clink softly.

Aleksis looked up from his homework, thick eyebrows furrowed at the clicking on his window. He glanced over and saw another pebble hit the window.

“What the...?” He stood up and walked over, a speckling of sideburns growing, making him look older than he was (on top of his height and build.). He opened the window just when another pebble hit him in the nose. “Ow!”

“Woops! Damn usually you don't stick your whole nose out like that!” Sasha cried laughing at him.

“Sasha? Cherno?” Aleksis looked down and beamed. “What are you doing here?! How'd you...? Hold on I'll be right down!”

Sasha smiled and waited in the back yard, sitting on the swing set as Cherno swung as well. She looked up when Aleksis came out and had to crane her neck back.

“Aleksis...I told you, you weren't allowed to get any taller you ass-hat!” She slugged him in the arm, blushing at the size of his muscles.

Aleksis just grinned and wrapped her up in a hug as he swung her around. Sasha still complained that he never followed the 'no hugging' rule.


	13. Yancy, Raleigh, and Gipsy Danger

Chapter 13: Yancy, Raleigh and Gipsy Danger

Another half a year, and a surprise arrival of Sasha; Aleksis's friend from Russia moving in; left the Beckets with more friends than they knew what to do with. Of course they still had time for each other and, of course, Gipsy.

It was warm for a late fall day when the trio decided to head to the beach. Raleigh was grinning as they crested the hill and looked over the sand dunes seeing the few of the taped off areas from an earlier Kaiju swarm in the week.

“Think we could get any bones or stuff for the scientists in the Shatterdome?” Raleigh asked as he looked back to his brother and Gipsy.

“Maybe. Most of the contamination should be taken care of by now.” Gipsy looked over the water, seeing only small spots of bright blue from the alien creature’s blood.

“Sweet! Let's go!” Raleigh laughed and bolted down the hill into the warm sand.

“Raleigh! Geeze...was I ever that hyper when I was twelve?” Yancy asked as he followed his brother down the hill and into the sand.

“More so,” Gipsy muttered to herself as she followed the two boys. The beach was quiet, and the wind was warm, making the walk comfortable.

“Gipsy, what do you think about getting some sea shells for Mako? She likes to paint them for ornaments on her tree for Cristmas.” Yancy smiled at her as they walked down to the edge of the water. Raleigh was already taking his shoes and socks off and rolling the cuff of his pants up so he could walk in the surf.

“Sure! I...really love watching her and Tango paint. Maybe she'll teach me.” Gipsy grinned and joined Raleigh in the water, looking for some large shells.

“You're going to catch a cold Raleigh,” Yancy called to his brother as he walked along the beach. He was going to be fifteen in a few weeks, he had to look after his little brother.

“I'm not going swimming. And the shallow water is pretty warm anyway. C'mon! Let's find some Kaiju teeth or scales or something!” Raleigh's laugh was infectious, and before long Yancy was laughing along with him even as they walked down the beach.

Gipsy was trailing behind, wading cautiously out into the cold waist deep water to find large scallop shells. Her worries were few, and her concentration was strictly on the feel of the water against her metal frame, a sensation she hadn't ever gotten used to, no matter how many times she felt it.

Raleigh smiled and picked up a long piece of drift wood to use as a walking stick and looked over the water and beach. It seemed most of the remains had been cleaned up by either other scavengers or the PPDC clean up crews.

“I don't know if we're going to find anything,” the younger brother complained with a frown.

“Don't give up. C'mon let's keep going down the beach. At the very least maybe we can find some stray scales or something. They can't clean up THAT quick.” Yancy smiled and grabbed his own drift-wood walking stick.

“Yeah...hey, what's that up there?” Raleigh pointed up ahead to a large dark mass on the beach.

“Dunno, let's check it out.”

The two walked along toward the shape, slowing down a bit as they began to make out the shape. It was dark gray, nearly black, with lines of green crossing the muscular form. Sharp angles and a knife-like head made it clear that this was no earthly creature.

“Kaiju...” Raleigh whispered in awe. He came out of the water and up to his brother, not at all trying to hide behind him, no sir-ie.

“Is it dead?” Yancy walked forward, looking for any sign of life in the monster. He frowned and lifted up the stick to poke it, making sure to keep himself between the Kaiju and Raleigh.

When the stick touched the Kaiju, there was a low hiss of air escaping through teeth but nothing else. Spurred on by nothing if teenage bravado, Yancy poked at it again harder. This time, nothing.

“I think it's dead.” Yancy lowered the stick and shifted to move closer, reaching out his left hand.

“Careful Yance!” Raleigh hissed, swallowing nervously. Something didn't feel right and he gripped at his brother's arm. “We should get Gipsy...” he looked around for the Jaeger, seeing her down the beach still shifting through the waves with a collection of shells in her arms.

“It's dead, there's nothing to be afraid of.” Yancy turned and smiled at his brother, frowning slightly when his brother paled. There was no time to react as the Kaiju snapped it's jaws over Yancy's left arm all the way to the shoulder, and the screams echoed over the water.

Gipsy's head snapped up and looked toward where Yancy and Raleigh had gone. She abandoned the half dozen large shells she found and bolted for the Kaiju that was gnawing on Yancy's arm.

Raleigh was yelling and hitting the Kaiju with his stick repeatedly, trying to poke one of the six eyes out. Tears were streaming down his face as he kept yelling his brother's name.

Yancy was screaming and hanging onto the sharp knife-like nose that was next to his head. One wrong move and his neck would be sliced, even as blood was spilling out onto the sand.

“GIPSY!” Yancy screamed before he felt a sickening crack and pop and was tossed into the ocean, staring as the Kaiju tossed it's head back and SWALLOWED his arm.

“Get away from them you monster!” Gipsy cried as she released her twin chain-swords, a gift from Mako the year before, and charged the Kaiju.

“Yancy!” Raleigh rushed into the water, ignoring the ice cold water as it drenched his clothes. He could see his brother floating in chest high water. He grabbed his brother's remaining arm and tried to stay upright in the loose sand and sea-weed bottom and bring him to shore. He couldn't tell if his brother was was even still breathing.

As he got to the shallows, Raleigh saw Gipsy pushing the Kaiju back to the water. His heart clenched when he saw the Jaeger's right arm get gnawed on even as she sliced a nasty chunk of the creature's nose out.

“Gipsy!” Raleigh watched as the fight went on not wanting to leave his brother, but not wanting to lose the only physical memory they had of their mother left.

“Raleigh...listen to me,” Yancy groaned out, his eyes fluttering open, even as his face became sheet white.

“Yancy...don't go!” Raleigh was already fumbling with his cell phone, trying to dial the emergency number. “Help's on the way!”

“Don't...let Gipsy....kill...it.” Raleigh stared at his brother, not understanding why he wouldn't want the monster dead. He looked out toward where he last saw Gipsy and saw nothing but blue blood and an oil slick on the surface. Raleigh's hands shook and he held his brother close as the dispatcher on the end of the phone began to talk.

“Yance...Yancy...Yance...” he just kept repeating.

She felt like she was falling only incredibly slowly. It was strange feeling the sharp pain in her arm, but it was the shock of that pain that made Gipsy realize she was sinking. There was a moment of panic before she remembered she didn't technically need to breathe. Relaxing she tried to push herself toward the surface, activating fans and propulsion to get her to shallower waters.

Breaking the surface, Gipsy Danger looked toward the shore, not seeing any sign of Yancy or Raleigh. Worry began to build.

“Yancy? Raleigh?” she called out as she walked onto the beach, wincing and holding her shoulder. There was no sign of them, even though there were signs of people being there. She wandered the beach until she saw the blood stained sand on the edge of the surf. Her blue eyes looked around in horror.

“Yancy?” she squeaked softly before she looked farther toward the beach. They had left her. And they had every right. She failed her trainers, her friends, her brothers. Who knew if Yancy was even still alive? Had he died because of her inaction? Because she was too busy looking for shells to try and impress her mentor instead of scanning the water and beach for Kaiju life signs.

She collapsed to her knees and let her damaged right arm dangle as she fell forward onto her hand. She sobbed and screamed at the ground, at herself, at the Kaiju that had escaped her wrath. Where could she go now that she had no home to go to?

After minutes of crying, Gipsy's heart broke beyond any repair, she stood and walked toward town. Perhaps she could ask Tango where she could go now, or maybe she would just go to the shatterdome and let them do with her what they wish. She could never face Raleigh again after causing his only family left to die because of her.

“Please tell me you've found her!” Raleigh cried as he saw his foster parents rush into the hospital waiting room outside the ER. Yancy was inside undergoing surgery to stop the bleeding.

“I'm sorry Raleigh. We came here first; you and Yancy are our priorities. I'm sure Gipsy is fine.” his foster mother whispered as she hugged him close.

“But...Gipsy...”

“Shhhh...Mako and Tango are going to look for her. She's going to be fine. She's a Jaeger.”

The words didn't sooth Raleigh's heartache. He didn't know what he would do if he lost Yancy and Gipsy in the same day. He buried his face into his foster mother's shoulder and sobbed quietly.


	14. Coyote Tango and Gipsy Danger

Chapter 14: Coyote Tango and Gipsy Danger

She really didn't know where she was going at first, but when she looked up and saw the familiar street that she had lived for three years, she understood why. She needed to be repaired, and Mako was the only one other than Raleigh or Yancy who ever repaired her.

Gipsy Danger continued to walk toward Mako's house, fighting down the sharp pains from her right shoulder. She looked at the dark building and frowned, heading for the garage and knocking.

“Mako...! Tango...!” she called wincing and leaning against the garage door, hoping that the young girl was there, or at the very least Tango.

“Gipsy!” Tango called from the front door, optics wide. He rushed over to the younger Jaeger and looked at her injured shoulder. “Oh my God! Get inside I'll fix you up.” Tango opened the garage and pulled her in.

Gipsy didn't argue as she was sat down on a small foot stool and the lights turned on as Tango got the tools and fluids needed for repairs. She really can't do much of anything but relive that damn fight. Her first fight with a Kaiju.

“Yancy....do you know...?” She finally found her vocal processors and got them working as Tango began to shut down the impulses from her injured arm.

“He's in the hospital, that's where Mako and Mr. Pentecost are right now. I don't know the details, but Mako told me that you disappeared during the fight.” Tango looked at her as he worked, his fingers working without a single twitch or sign of his processing glitch. “She told me to stay here and watch for you.”

“I...it pulled me into the water and...I don't even remember what happened after that other than sinking into the ocean.” Gipsy watched him and frowned. “I...I can't go back to Raleigh and Yancy. They'll hate me.”

Tango froze slightly as he looked up from his work. “What? Why would you think they would hate you?”

“Because I failed! I'm supposed to be the top of the line Jaeger and I got distracted looking for seashells instead of doing my job and making sure the Kaiju from the swarm were gone!” Gipsy shook her head and only winced slightly when the live electrical wires in her shoulder sparked. “Yancy...he got hurt because of me. He could be DEAD because of me!”

Tango frowned and moved from her shoulder joint; her arm safely removed for proper repair on a table with more light; and looked at her straight on.

“Gipsy...you did NOT fail them. Don't ever think that. Kaiju flee after they are beaten back from a swarm. No one would have expected one to come back. Yancy is going to be fine.” Tango frowned worriedly. “Raleigh and Yancy need you now more than ever.”

Gipsy looked at her mentor and shivered a bit. “I was so scared. I...I didn't know I could be so scared as when I heard Yancy and Raleigh scream. When he went flying I thought...I thought he was dead and I just...knew I had to take out that monster for him. Even then, that monster got away from me.” She hung her head ashamed of herself. “How can they ever look at me and not think of how I wasn't doing what I promised I would do?”

Tango frowned and hugged her gently, careful of the damage she still had. “I cannot imagine those boys turning you away. You are family; THEIR family.” He pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her firmly but not without kindness.

Gipsy nodded slowly, realizing how right Tango was. Yancy and Raleigh were her family, her brothers and would one day be her Rangers as well. Besides, the way Raleigh looked at her when he was upset, missing their mother, she knew how much she was a source of happy memories for the brothers.

“Just give me a few minutes and I'll fix your arm up, then I'll take you to the hospital to see Yancy and Raleigh.” Tango smiled and went to the work bench to fix the metal arm.

“Okay.” Gipsy sighed and rubbed her shoulder joint, glad that there was no damage to the joint itself.

After Tango fixed her arm and reattached it expertly, he kept his promise and they headed to the hospital. Although it wasn't exactly proper to have Jaegers walking around without trainers, most people in the town couldn't care less. They appreciated the Jaeger's presence, with or without trainers.

“Excuse me, we're here to see Raleigh Becket,” Tango said looking up at the nurse on the desk.

“Tango! Gipsy!” Mako called from a hallway. She rushed over and smiled. “They're with me ma'am.” she said before bowing her head politely and looking at the two Jaegers. “Gipsy...We were so worried!” she hugged the Jaeger before pulling the two down the hall.

“Is Yancy okay? And Raleigh?” Gipsy asked following the girl with nervous optics.

“Yancy is coming out of surgery, Raleigh has been really worried about both of you. So are his foster parents.” Mako pulled the two along and to the waiting room outside the ER. Raleigh looked up from where he was being rocked gently by his foster mother.

“GIPSY!” Raleigh got up and rushed over to her, abandoning his hot chocolate to hug her. “I thought I lost you!” He was crying as he held her close.

“I'm so sorry, Raleigh,” she squeaked out softly. “I should have done more to help Yancy...! Is...is he going to be okay?” Gipsy looked up at him and gently reached up to clear his tears.

“The...doctors amputated his arm, but he's going to be all right,” Raleigh said softly and frowning. “You don't have anything to be sorry for. We shouldn't have...been so stupid.” He swallowed and sat in a chair, leaning against the blue Jaeger when she sat next to him.

“I...I'm so sorry.” Gipsy frowned and hugged Raleigh again, looking up as Stacker Pentecost came over to speak with Raleigh's foster parents.

“Thank you Mister Pentecost, but there's no need. We'll find a way to help Yancy.” Raleigh and Gipsy looked up curiously at them, even as Mako and Tango sat down near them as well.

“I may be able to help Yancy. There has been research in the PPDC trying to combine jaeger technology with a new technology developed as a potential way to power machines with cognitive thought. It could have many practical applications, especially for amputees.”

“T-thank you, Mr. Pentecost, but we wouldn't be able to afford such treatment.”

Pentecost smiled and put a hand on the woman's shoulder. “There would be no cost to you. Yancy's costs would be taken care of. He's a strong young man. He and Raleigh have told me of their hopes to become Rangers. I want to make that happen for them. They've already seen Kaiju up close and personal and their Jaeger has proven to be a fine warrior herself.”

Raleigh looked at Mako and frowned. “Just who IS your dad?”

“He...is the Marshall for the PPDC,” Tango said with a chuckle. He looked over at them with a smile.


	15. Tendo Choi and Stacker Pentecost

Chapter 15: Tendo Choi and Stacker Pentecost

Marshall Stacker Pentecost left the hospital, Mako staying with Raleigh as they waited for Yancy to wake up from surgery, and headed toward the Shatterdome at the center of the city. He kept his work generally a secret from everyone, knowing how some people who considered the Jaegers the PPDC developed to be nothing more than war-machines that anyone could buy.

He did his best to ignore those people, knowing full well the truth. His Jaegers were only adopted out to the most qualified of candidates.

Stacker smiled slightly at the thought. 'His' Jaegers. Perhaps he was more than a little attached to the warriors. He didn't think of them as just machines. He knew from having Coyote Tango for years that they were more than machines.

He pulled into his spot and quickly entered the large building. He had one person in mind as to who could help him give Yancy Becket his chance at not only living a full life, but also being a Ranger.

“Tendo, I need the results from the Drift test.” Pentecost walked into the LOCCENT command center and looked at the computer screens.

There were several techs working on different programs, but there was one man who stood out. He wasn't very tall, but the way he dressed, with suspenders and a bow tie and his black hair slicked back in a pompadour, made him stand head and shoulders above the lower ranking techs. Of course the fact that his desk was covered with coffee cups and he had a doughnut hanging out of his mouth was another give away that he was the man in charge when the Marshal was away.

“No problem Marshall.” Tendo smiled and pulled up the results on the large holographic projector. “So far the tests have been working perfectly, we found the perfect ratio of power to neurological output. Hey...how's Mako's friend? He's okay right?”

Pentecost looked over the results and nodded. “He's out of surgery and recovering well. But he lost his left arm. I approached his foster parents, well they're finishing up the final paperwork to properly adopt the boys; about possibly having him as a candidate to have his arm replaced by a jaeger style limb.”

“Geeze, poor kid! Yeah, I mean we're able to make the Jaeger's pretty damn light, and we can work on getting the power output to be within the limits of human strength. We'd probably have to have the joint made to hold an adult arm, though.” Tendo began to fiddle with a design. “I can get Dr. Gottlieb up here to help with the mathematics of the program computer we'd have to install in the arm, but in theory, Yancy should be able to have a fully functional arm.” The Chinese-American man smiled and sat back in his seat.

“Good. Bring Dr. Gottlieb up from his lab and get started on the design and computer work.” Pentecost nodded and glanced to Tendo. “I trust you know how to make the limb...appealing to a fifteen year old?”

“Yes sir, Marshall. I'll double check with Newt. That kid's got a good eye for that stuff.” Tendo smiled and watched as the Marshall left, looking over at the designs for several new Jaeger limbs.

With help from Hermann with the programming; Newton with the colors and some of the design; measurements from the nurses at the hospital and both Romeo and Tacit for more practical designs, Tendo finished building and programming Yancy's new arm within a week.

“Hey boys! Hey Gipsy,” Tendo said as he walked into Yancy's hospital room and smiled. “Got everything finished up and I just wanted to give you a look at your new arm.” He smiled at the boy as he sat up in the bed.

“No way...!” Yancy smiled when the bronze colored metal arm was pulled out of a case. “I'm gunna be part Jaeger.” The young man was surprisingly in good spirits even from having his arm bitten off by a Kaiju.

“I guess you'll be my brother by oil now, instead of just by living together, huh Yancy?” Gipsy smiled, having slowly gotten over her self-doubt with the help of not only Mako and Tango, but also her brothers.

“Man how come Yancy gets the cool robot arm?” Raleigh complained before he smiled at his brother and looked at the limb. “So will he be able to like, crush I-beams and stuff?” the twelve year old looked to Tendo with a rather manic looking gleam in his eyes.

“No. No super-strength for Yancy. If he did then he'd break you in half when he gave you a hug. We've got it all set up to be pretty much identical to your current grip and lift strength. As you get older and stronger, we'll replace the limb and increase the output. You'll still have to work on also strengthening your shoulder though.” Tendo smiled at the three and showed the details of the limb itself.

“Sweet. Thanks so much Mr. Choi. You and Mr. Pentecost, sorry Marshal Pentecost, have done so much for me. I'm just some kid from Anchorage...” Yancy smiled and easily lifted the metal arm into his lap, looking at the details. He wondered if he would be able to feel sensations with the metal skin.

“Your Mako's friend, and the Marshall wants you to be able to be a Ranger along with your brother. You're going to be the first human ever to have a fully adaptable mechanical prosthetic.” Tendo smiled and patted the young man's shoulder. “Yancy, I promise you that you will be a Ranger. And don't call me Mr. Choi. It makes me feel old.”

Yancy looked up and nodded with a smile. “Thanks Tendo.”

Both Pentecost and Tendo were plesantly surprised at how quickly Yancy adapted to the limb once the surgery was completed. Tendo was even put in charge of his physical therapy, getting used to the weigh and different reactions that the metal arm gave him. The J-tech officer was rather proud that he could work one-on-one with the young man.

“Tendo! You gotta check out Yancy! He's managed to actually cut up dinner last night!” Gipsy cried excitedly as she led the man into their house.

“Awesome! Hey Yancy! Gipsy told me the good news, you're getting more fine motor control with the fingers?” Tendo smiled and sat down in the living room, nodding to their mother when she offered him his usual cup of coffee.

“Yeah, it's getting easier too, Gipsy is even arm-wrestling me to work on the rotation in my shoulder and arm.” Yancy smiled and flexed his new arm getting prepared to do the tests that Tengo was setting up for.

“Good. Anyone giving you trouble at school?”

“You kidding me? Even if Aleksis wasn't intimidating everyone away along with Sasha, I think the entire school wants to check out my arm. I've even had a few seniors ask about how I control it. It's kinda cool really.” Yancy smiled as he took off his shirt and Tendo began to hook up the lap top to his arm.

“More power to ya, brother. Not getting as many headaches right?” The J-tech officer looked at him carefully. It was a few days after the successful surgery that Yancy started complaining of headaches when he tried to push himself too hard.

“Not really getting any. It's kinda like I've always had my jaeger arm. Oh hey, check this out,” Yancy turned so that Tendo could see the mark that his brother and Mako designed. It was a pair of white wings around a red star, identical to the ID mark that Gipsy had on her chest.

“You're not even 16 and you have your first tattoo! Man, Newt would flip out. Let me guess, Raleigh's going to get the same one right when he's old enough?” Tendo smiled and looked at the read outs as Yancy did the movements from memory.

“Of course. He's not sure if he wants it on his left or right, I think it should be his right, considering we gotta be balanced.” Yancy watched the read outs, looking up with Raleigh came in with Aleksis, Sasha and Cherno.

“Hey Tendo! So is my brother going to turn into the Borg?” Raleigh asked.

“Hello Mr. Choi, er...Tendo.” Aleksis smiled and waved.

“Hey Tendo. Do you think you can give Cherno a check up while you're here?” Sasha asked smiling and patting the Jaeger's helm.

“What? I don't want a check up!” Cherno squeaked out with wide nervous eyes.

“Sure, I can check the old war hero out.” Tendo smiled and disconnected the computer. “You're looking great Yancy. I know the attachment joint may be a little irritating, so as soon as you feel you need an upgrade, let me know.” He looked over at Cherno and crooked his finger at the Jaeger to get him to walk over to the couch.

“No problem. So far I've been using some cocoa-butter to help the scaring.” Yancy smiled and pulled his shirt back on, not at all embarassed that Sasha was in the room. He looked at his arm as Tendo checked on Cherno's AI advancement and smiled a bit. He was one of a kind, a survivor. He just hoped he would be able to find the Kaiju that took his arm. He had plans for the kaiju.


	16. Cheung, Jin, Hu, and Crimson Typhoon

Chapter 16: Cheung, Jin, Hu and Crimson Typhoon

Typhoon had shown more interest in domestic skills than fighting ones. Infact the triplet's mother had been surprised when the red Jaeger preferred to help cook than watch fighting videos, but she hadn't complained. Ty was a welcome assistant along with Hu in the kitchen.

Yet Cheung and Jin encouraged the Jaeger to begin training for the city Jaeger-battles.

“You're...sure that the other Jaeger's won't be upset at being hurt? I mean...it's just very strange is all.” Ty looked at the three boys, tilting her head a bit as the video played on the television.

It was of the city finals from the year before. There were two Jaegers who were beating the ever living crap out of each other, yet their optics were bright, a sign of their enjoyment in the fight.

“Naw, think of it like a giant training session before they take on Kaiju. Well not everyone becomes a PPDC Jaeger, but the Jaeger Fights are the next best thing.” Cheung grinned and crossed his arms over his chest.

“And we'll fix you up even better after each fight, Ty. A lot of the Jaegers are actually friends it seems after the fights. See?” Hu pointed to the Jaegers after the fight when the shook hands and laughed. It was a way to test themselves, and even the Trainers enjoyed the fight and the congratulations of the winner was warm and friendly.

“You'll be a great fighter, Ty! I mean three blades and the agility you have and all the training!” Jin grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet. “I bet we can go all the way to city finals!”

Typhoon fidgeted and sighed through her vents. “I don't know. I'm no where near as strong as those Jaegers. I know how to fight from my programming, but...I don't think I would be any good in those fights.”

“Don't sell yourself so short, Ty. We built you! We know you're just as strong as any other Jaeger and could totally take on a whole swarm of Kaiju and win.” Cheung laughed and gave the red Jaeger a hug from the side.

“Thank you, Cheung.” She was so surprised at how much the boys had grown.

At nearly thirteen, the trio practically ran the neighborhood in all the best ways. There wasn't a single gang from the deeper slums that would step foot into the street-fighter Wei's territory. Ty wasn't sure if that was because of their skills in a fight, which she always worried about when there was a bruise on them, or because everyone knew they built their own Jaeger. She decided that it was most likely the fact that the triplets were fantastic fighters.

The City Jaeger Fights for Hong Kong were going to start soon, and the Triplets were determined on entering Typhoon. Typhoon, on the other hand, was worried about failing her brothers, but she wouldn't deter them from entering her. Which is why one week later they were standing outside of a small ring at the local park for their first battle.

“All right Ty! Here we go!” Cheung looked up when the announcer picked up the mic.

“Now entering the arena, a semi-finalist from last year's city championships, Sung Chi and his Jaeger Horizon Brave! Next, are the Wei Triplets and their Jaeger Crimson Typhoon!”

Ty did her best to exude confidence as she walked out with her brothers. Cheung, Jin, and Hu were soaking up the attention easily, and cheering back at the crowd around them.

“C'mon Ty! Wave! They're here to see you!” Jin said laughing and encouraging her.

The red and gold Jaeger waved a bit, noticing how the crowd reacted and it felt good. She perked up and waved even more, beaming and laughing. When she saw Horizon Brave, though she made a nervous gulping noise and fidgeted.

Horizon was a bruiser of a Mark-1. Gold and bronze with heavy body he was intimidating to the thinner framed Typhoon.

“He's....big,” she said looking at her brothers nervously.

“Go and meet him before the fight starts, it's like tradition and stuff. Don't worry about it.” Cheung smiled before the four of them headed out to the middle of the ring.

“I heard about your home built Jaeger. It's awesome to finally see him in battle,” Sung said with a smile shaking the boys' hands. He was probably sixteen, but he was rather friendly.

“Her, actually. She's got a femme AI,” Hu corrected with a smile.

Typhoon looked at Horizon and waved. “H-hello...it's an honor to meet you and to fight you.” she said bowing politely.

“The honor's mine!” Horizon boomed and shook her hand. “Go easy on an ol' Mark-1 though will ya?” his laugh was loud and echoed.

Ty laughed a bit and nodded. “Just don't break me in half!” she giggled and smiled before the announcer asked that the trainers leave the ring. “Good luck!”

“You too Little Red! I'm gunna call you Little Red Riding Hood, how about it?”

“I like it. Thank you, Horizon.” Typhoon backed up and smiled with her single yellow optic. He was such a friendly Jaeger. She wouldn't hold back, she would give the Mark-1 the best fight she could.

“The Rules are simple! The First Jaeger to be thrown from the ring or to yield looses. Jaegers! FIGHT!”

Horizon shifted his stance and moved to charge Ty, going in for hand to hand combat. His hands were large and Typhoon could tell that he was built with heavy materials and would be difficult to fight with pure strength, but Ty had agility on her side.

Her second right arm rose up and she took a staggered stance, meeting Horizon's strength and attempting to use his own speed and weight against him and flip him over her thick left shoulder.

Typhoon could hear the calls of her brothers through the crowd, her audios focused on the three distinct and near identical voices. It helped to focus her in the fight, even as her processors were focused on the fight with Horizon.

The large Jaeger was jovial throughout the fight, even complimenting her on her agility and surprising strength. He didn't hold back either, and the two were fairly well matched. Horizon was strong and full of brute force, and his experience in other Jaeger fights as well as against Kaiju pushed Typhoon to her breaking point.

“C'mon Ty! You can do it!” Hu cried. “Three o'clock Ty! Three o'clock!”

Ty saw Horizon's fist coming down toward her and she just had enough time to block it with her larger left arm. She grunted and squeezed horizon's fist before an idea came to her. She shifted her grip and activated her jump-jets for the first time, doing a perfect hand stand on Horizon's shoulders.

“Woah!”

Ty grinned and allowed her lower body rotate 180 degrees before letting gravity take her legs down. She gripped hard at Horizon's shoulders and with a cry she managed to toss him toward the edge of the ring.

“HE'S OUT! Horizon Brave was just tossed out of the ring!” The announcer cried as Horizon tumbled out of the ring on the triplet's side.

Neither Jaeger came away unscathed, dents and even cuts were on both but Horizon was crowing excitedly and hugged Typhoon in congratulations of her very first win.

“You did GREAT Little Red! Man! I gotta work out twice as hard for next year!” Horizon rubbed her head and laughed as Sung joined in with the Triplets.

“I knew you could do it Ty!” Cheung whooped and punched the air excitedly.

“It was really tough! I'm glad though I was able to put up a good fight, Horizon. Maybe we can train together sometime?” Ty looked to the gold mech and fidgeted, rubbing her sparking elbow a little.

“Of course! Right Sung? I'm not gunna let this Little Red Lady go through the rest of the competition without regular training!”

“Sure, is that cool with you guys?”

The triplets nodded in unison. “Of course! If you want we can eve help fix up Horizon and stuff.” Cheung beamed.

Typhoon smiled and looked over the crowd in wonder. She could probably get used to being cheered for, at least a little bit.


	17. Newton, Hermann, and Yancy

Chapter 17: Newton, Hermann and Yancy

“NEWTON! I swear if you don't keep that creature on your side of the lab I will allow Romeo to make it a new belt out of it!” Hermann cried as he shooed away Otachi from his side of the laboratory.

“Skreeee!” Otachi bolted away, hiding behind Newton's leg and hissing at Hermann. Over the past six months when the two scientists finally settled into the HQ of the PPDC and Newton brought home the little kaiju, she had been completely tamed. At least according to Newt.

“Awh she's fine! Otachi's a good little Kaiju, she wouldn't hurt a fly, would you Otachi?” Newt scratched at her head, looking up when the two Jaegers and Hermann rolled their eyes and huffed.

“She's still a Kaiju, Newt,” Romeo said diplomatically. “Although I will admit her temper has gone down with those training sessions you perform with her.”

Otachi chirped at the compliment before she climbed easily up Newton's pants to perch on his shoulder as he sat at the computer.

“You can't tell me she isn't adorable, Herms, I mean look at that cute little nose and her nose horns!” Newt scratched at her chin pouch gently listening to her purr.

Hermann stared and grumbled before looking back at his equations. “She has proven to be quite an educational tool. I have been able to properly observe her after all.” He sighed as he worked, he hated admitting that Newton was right about things, but he was. At least about Otachi.

“Hear that Otachi? Hermann's warming up to you finally! After six months!” Newt picked up the flying lizard and held her in front of him with a grin. Luckily he was working on more research and was reading the latest Kaiju Swarm reports rather than working on any fresh Kaiju carcasses.

“Scrrip!” Otachi's clawed tail snapped and wagged happily before she opened her wings and flapped her arms. Finally free from Newton, she perched on her shelf and curled up in her bed, multiple eyes watching the two humans and two Jaegers.

“I don't trust them, they are...too intelligent,” Tacit said with a frown looking up at her. He and Otachi hadn't gotten along at all. It hadn't come to blows or slices, but Newton and Hermann were always sure to lay down the rules with both of them.

“Perhaps their intelligence is something that keeps some Kaiju from swarming compared to others.” Romeo looked up at Otachi and tapped his finger on his chin. “The last Kaiju Swarm was of those Knifehead Kaiju just before...well Yancy's accident. Is it possible that only the less intelligent Kaiju swarm?”

“Possible. The Knifehead's don't have near the brain size compared to Otachi with ratio to their size.” Newton frowned and pulled up the scans he did of a few Knifehead skulls. The lab went quiet after a moment as Newton began to pull up new scans and drawings he did as well as measurements.

There was a knock on the lab of metal on metal that finally stirred the scientists from their work and Otachi from her nap.

“Uh, hey, Doctor Gottlieb? Doctor Geiszler?” Yancy walked in and frowned. He had been visiting the PPDC shatterdome more and more with his prosthetic, and half the time he had Gipsy and Raleigh with him. Except for today.

“Hey Yancy!” Newt cried waving. “Call me Newt, man, Doctor makes me sound as old as Hermann.” he snickered and looked at the other doctor with a smirk.

“Newton you're one year younger than me, less than a year actually.” Hermann shook his head and smiled at the young man. “What can we do for you Mister Becket?”

“I was kinda wondering...how did you tame Otachi?” he asked looking up to the curious Kaiju who was climbing down from her shelf. “I mean...I'm just wondering is all.” Yancy chuckled a bit and let the Kaiju sniff at him from the metal shelf.

“Well it was a lot of work getting her to trust me first. She wasn't happy about being caged, especially when I found out she could fly and had to put a roof on her kennel, but generally she started associating me with food and good treats.” Newton smiled and pulled out a bag of beef jerky and offered Yancy a piece. “She loves these. Just tell her to be gentle.”

Yancy nodded and offered it to Otachi. “Be gentle, Otachi,” he said softly.

Otachi purred and gently pulled the strip of dried beef out of his hand and snapped it up with a happy trill. She nuzzled Yancy's hand, letting him know that he was 'ok' in her book. As long as he kept giving her treats.

“Why would you want to know how to tame a Kaiju?” Hermann asked looking at the young man curiously.

“I want to find that Knifehead and…tame him.” Yancy kept scratching at Otachi’s jaw gently, smiling when she climbed into his arms.

“Oh Gott…!” Hermann cried covering his face. “You see what you’ve started Newton?!”

“Sweet! I’m all for it! Just don’t lose your other arm kay, kid?” Newton laughed easily, even at the rather morbid joke.

“I won’t. I’m just not sure where I’d put the guy once I catch him, if he’s still alive. Gipsy said that it got away from her.” Yancy smiled and laughed a bit as Otachi started sniffing in his ear.

“Why do you want to tame the creature that took your arm?” Tacit asked looking at the young man.

“I dunno…well I mean I think I have an idea why. When it was biting at me it…he looked scared, and hurt. I don’t think it would have attacked if it had been healthy, and I remember seeing bites taken out of its tail, like other Kaiju tried to kill it. Maybe he was kicked out of his clan or whatever it is Kaiju have.” Yancy shrugged again, disturbing the little flying creature on his shoulder.

“Ffffssss…” Otachi spat clinging closer and inspecting the young man’s metal arm curiously.

“It’s very possible. Hey! When you tame it you should bring it over and we can take a look at fixing the poor guy up! I bet Otachi would like a friend too to play with.” Newton laughed and smiled, watching as Otachi continued to investigate. “Be careful Otachi. No chewing.”

Otachi chirped and pulled her head back, closing her mouth and looking rather indignant, as if she were to say 'I don't chew, Newton, I nibble like a proper lady'. She lifted her chin and gently shook her neck and head as she perched on Yancy's shoulder.

“She's full of personality, isn't she?” Yancy asked before smiling and petting her back gently before the Kaiju jumped off and flew to her shelf and bed. “You think I'll be able to tame it though, the Knifehead?”

“Sure, when you get him located give me a call and I'll come out and help you catch him.” Newton chuckled a bit and leaned back. “Just be really careful this time okay? Don't go poking kaiju with sticks out in the open. Or at all, they don't like that. Just ask Otachi.” He smiled and subconsciously rubbed his arm where Otachi had once bitten him when he crossed the invisible line that was her temper.

“No problem, I'll be careful. I should head home though. Thanks for the help though Newt! See you guys later!” Yancy waved as he left.

Hermann looked over at Newton once before turning back to his computers.

“What?” Newton blinked and looked at Hermann as he raised his hands in pleading gesture.


	18. Cherno Alpha, Gipsy Danger and Coyote Tango (AKA The Existential Interlude)

Chapter 18: Cherno Alpha, Gipsy Danger and Coyote Tango (AKA The Existential Interlude)

It took some convincing on both Cherno and Tango's part to get Gipsy to come with them, but eventually she relented and joined them. The blue Jaeger hadn't been to the beach for three months after Yancy's accident.

“You can't let it rule you, Gipsy. Yancy is fine.” Tango smiled at her and patted her shoulder as he pulled a wagon behind him.

“Excatly! Now let's go and have fun!” Cherno slapped his hand on her back, sending Gipsy flying into the sand.

“Ow...” Gipsy stood up and shook the sand from her helm and from her armor. “Cherno...what have we told you about hitting so hard?” She looked flatly at him and brushed herself off.

Cherno looked chastened and fidgeted. “Sorry. I forget my own strength,” he said with his thick accent.

“It's all right, just try to keep it in mind, Cherno. You will remember in time.” Tango smiled at his old friend and squeezed his shoulder gently. “Now then, let's keep ourselves busy with a patrol, and see if we can't find some interesting shells or drift wood to paint together when everyone gets home from school.”

The trio walked with ease down the silent beach. Cherno was chatting away with Tango, recalling bits and pieces of his old life at times and confirming them with the other Mark-1. Gipsy kept a wary eye on the ocean, but after a while she began to pick up strange shells and pieces of wood, putting them in the wagon.

“I'm glad that I am remembering more and more of my old life, but some parts I wish I didn't,” Cherno said with a bit of a frown. “To know that my own Rangers didn't want to deal with me after my accident because I was too much of a child and a burden, it makes...it makes my chest hurt in a funny way.” He frowned and touched his chest with a large hand.

“I've heard of that before, it's called 'heart-ache'. It seems even Jaegers get them even when we don't have hearts.” Tango said with a shake of his head. “But you have two wonderful trainers, Cherno, and they love you for who you are now and who you were. Just like I'm lucky to have Mako and Mr. Pentecost keep me even with my own system glitch.”

“I think that Jaegers who are adopted out get the best homes, y'know? I mean, there are a lot who stay with their trainers even after they serve but it seems that more and more the trainers prefer to just get a new model and toss their old Jaegers out.” Gipsy shook her head with a frown. “I've heard that some people treat us like we're nothing more than stupid machines.”

“We are not stupid,” Cherno said with indignation. “Jaegers are just as intelligent as humans, we work together when we are fighting, as one unit.”

“No, and we all know that, Cherno, but some humans don't think of us as any more than pets or...or any more than what their home computer is. Although it does bring up the question on whether or not we could be considered 'alive',” Tango sat down on a log as they took a break from their walk.

Cherno flopped back into the sand and stared up at the puffy clouds overhead as he thought, while Gipsy sat leaning up against the log watching the ocean.

“What is 'alive' anyway? I mean...I know what it means but not what it means to be alive.” Gipsy watched the ocean carefully. “Kaiju are alive, they can have babies and die and be killed. Humans are alive because they have families and die, but what about us?”

“That sounds like an existential crisis,” Cherno said after a long pause.

Tango and Gipsy slowly turned to look at the bronze Mark-1 with wide eyes. This wasn't the first time Cherno had a moment of utter clarity and acted more like his old self, and they were coming closer and closer together.

“Well, uh...Jaegers can 'die' I suppose,” Tango said coming back on topic. “but that comes to the topic of souls. Humans believe that living things have souls.”

“But not all living things according to some people. Like pets or plants, that only human beings have souls,” Gipsy chimed in.

“But what makes up a soul? Is it a personality?” Cherno asked glancing over to the others as he continued to lay on his back and stare at the sky. “If it is then one can be programmed, since our AI chips have our personalities.”

“I don't know...” Tango said with a sigh of slight defeat. “Not even humans know, but somehow they know. After all, if we are alive, and if we do contain souls, then doesn't that completely destroy the concept that life as they know it is unique, since they created us?”

“But at the same time, their children have souls and they were 'created' by two humans. So in theory, perhaps a soul can be created after all,” Gipsy theorized.

“Yet if it can be created, then what makes it up? Energy maybe? If so then that goes in the face of what everyone knows about energy.”

“Perhaps it's not made of anything we can understand yet,” Cherno added as he sat up.

“Uh...Cherno,” Gipsy giggled a bit and pointed to his head, where a Crab was clinging and skittering on.

“Huh? OH! Sorry little guy,” Cherno grinned and gently picked up the crustacean, setting it back in the sand.

“Maybe you have a point, Cherno. Perhaps a soul is something that we don't understand yet because we haven't discovered what it could be made out of.” Tango smiled at his friend and looked at the waves lapping gently against the shore.

Gipsy laughed gently and nodded leaning on her knees a bit. “I think we are alive. Each Jaeger is too unique, just like humans, to just be a machine.”

“I think everything has a soul. Or at least everything that's alive. It makes more sense to me that way.” Cherno smiled and cocked his head to the side in a sweet child-like manor.

“I think you're right, Cherno. It's something that I think we just need to...not forget about but perhaps not think about at the moment. The Kaiju are a more important problem we need to solve.” Tango smiled and stood. “For now, though, let's keep collecting wood and shells and head home before it gets too late.”

“Okay,” Gipsy smiled and brushed off the sand from her armor. “Let's go.”

The trio walked along the abandoned beach, picking up what they could find and cleaning some up in the water. It was on their way back that they noticed the strange shape on the beach.

Gipsy froze and glared at the shape, tensing and releasing the chain-swords from her forearms.

“Wait,” Tango whispered as he put a hand gently on Gipsy's shoulder. He carefully observed the Kaiju as it laid on the sand making small noises.

The Kaiju was whimpering softly, hurt and bleeding, and looking very thin. The Knifehead looked in the direction of the Jaegers and simply made a pleading noise before closing it's eyes.

“It's dying...” Cherno said with a worried look. “Starving to death. I...almost feel bad for it.”

Gipsy frowned as well and walked forward. “It looks so...sad. What do we do?” she looked back at the older two Jaegers.

Tango frowned and lifted his comm and contacted Yancy.


	19. Hermann and Newton

Chapter 19: Hermann and Newton

“Newton?” Tacit asked looking over at the scientist who was pouring over his computer with squinting eyes. The Jaeger frowned and shook his head walking over closer. “Newton you're eyes are red, you need to take a break.”

“Huh? In a minute, Tacit.” The twenty-one year old genius said brushing the Jaeger away as he made more notes on a pad of paper.

“Doctor Geiszler...listen to Tacit and tear your eyes away from the screen before you go even more blind,” Hermann's voice cut through the haze of Newton's brain along with the movement of his chair being pulled away from the desk.

“But Hermann!” Newt froze when his lips were assaulted by Hermann's. He glanced down and saw Tacit and Romeo exchange some flash drives, Romeo looking very pleased with himself. Newt didn't care as he kissed back a bit, until he nearly fell forward when Hermann pulled away. “Hey I didn't say stop!”

“It got you to pay attention.” Hermann lifted his chin slightly and smirked. “Come on, you haven't eaten since five this morning and it's nearly two.” He leaned on his cane and looked at his contemporary and lab partner, and the only person who could both drive him to consider strangling someone as well as kiss them stupid.

“Dude, really?” Newt blinked and rubbed his stomach as it growled, not for the first time that day, like a hungry Kaiju. “Man I didn't even realize.”

“Of course not, now let's get down there before they have nothing left but cold potatoes and stale toast.” Hermann shook his head and sighed before he started to walk away, hoping that Newton would follow now that his stomach was growling.

“Wait up!”

Hermann didn't bother to hide the small smirk.

~*~*~*~*~

The cafeteria was relatively empty being after the usual lunch rush, but thankfully the cooks still had a full lunch platter available.

Hermann watched with mild amusement as Newton piled his platter high with a little bit of everything. He couldn't help but wonder how the manic young man would be able to keep up with such a horrible eating style as he got into his thirties. He could imagine him getting a little plump, and it made him smile even more.

“What are you smiling about?” Newton asked with a smirk as he glanced over his shoulder at his lab-partner and still-walking-the-edge-of-boyfriend-and-crush.

“Nothing, just move already so we can sit down and eat.” Hermann put food onto his tray, picking up a bottle of tea as Newton picked up chocolate milk.

He and Newton hadn't been properly dating, if it could be called that, for more than three months. It was kind of a subtle dance really, and barely even considered PDA's outside of the lab. Yet Hermann would be lying if he said he didn't adore Newton, for all of his little idiosyncrasies and annoyances as well as that adorable damn smile.

As they sat down, Newton began to shovel food into his mouth, barely taking a breath between his bites.

“Good God man! Breathe!” Herman gaped and shook his head. “How the devil did Tacit even get around to keep you alive before we met? Mien Gott, you would have choaked if you were alone.” he muttered and took a dainty bite of his roasted chicken.

“I chipmunk my food and breathe just fine, thank you,” Newton said around his food swallowing it and chugging some of his chocolate milk. He looked mildly nervous when he coughed after swallowing a second time.

“Gott helfe mir...” the mathematician muttered under his breath.

“You know even though I lived in Boston most my life, I still know German, right?”

“Of course. So what was it that you were so intent upon finishing before I dragged you off to eat?” Hermann asked, sipping his tea.

Newton smiled and nodded. “Okay, so you know how Yancy was over a week or so ago asking about taming that knifehead when he finds it? Well it got me thinking more about why Otachi wasn't part of any swarm so I started looking deeper into the brain patterns of the recent Knifehead swarm. Well more if there was any difference between them other than some minor size between the smaller ones and then the Alpha.”

Hermann nodded for him to continue as he ate, actually interested in what Newton had discovered.

“So far it seems that the Alpha Kaiju have a larger posterior lobe near their brainstrem that isn't the medulla oblongata. I've been theorizing as to what that lobe is for, so I need to take a closer look at the partial brains I have in storage. Hopefully if Yancy does catch that Knifehead, once it's tamed maybe I can actually take a scan of it's brain case and find out what it does. It's definitely not anything I've seen in any other creature besides Kaiju and it's identical in every single Kaiju subspecies.”

“Identical? That's impossible, they're completely different from one species to another, you've seen it yourself. Otachi is completely different from knifeheads, or leatherbacks or anything else.” Hermann frowned and leaned forward curiously.

“I know...maybe I'm overlooking something. I'll have to double check some of my samples, but I'm positive that they're identical.” Newton's brows furrowed in a strange excitement at the challenge. He jumped when his phone went off. “Huh...it's Yancy.” Newton shoved a bite of dinner roll into his mouth and answered. “Hello?”

“Gott you are so rude to talk with your mouth full,” Hermann muttered. He sipped his tea, watching Newton as the muffled voice on the other end of the line chattered away. The young mathematician sipped slower, watching as Newton's eyes widened. “Newton?”

Newton held up a finger and nodded unseen by Yancy. “Okay I'll have the lab ready immediately. I'll send some techs out for transport to get him here safely and then we'll see if we can't get him back on his feet.”

“Newton what's going on?” Hermann's chest tightened, worried that something had happened to one of the Jaegers, or worse to Yancy.

“Yeah okay, see you soon.” Newton hung up the phone and shoveled the rest of the food in his mouth. “Yancy's Knifehead is on death's door. Gipsy, Tango and Cherno found it and it's not even putting up a fight to being touched. This is my chance to not only study a different Kaiju but also to see how a different Kaiju brain works in life. C'mon we gotta get the lab ready for a big kaiju who needs to be fixed up!” Newton beamed happily and chugged the rest of his milk.

Hermann barely had time to finish up his food before he rushed after Newton, both terrified and excited about the prospect of getting a bit of a look at a living Kaiu other than Otachi. He knew Romeo and Tacit would protect them, and with Gipsy coming as well, they were going to be well guarded against a possible attack. He had a feeling that perhaps even Otachi would protect Newton if it came down to it. The small Kaiju seemed protective of the biologist.

~*~*~*~*~

By the time that Yancy rushed in with the large crate holding the ill Kaiju, Newton had his half of the lab completely set up for the knifehead. Gipsy kept close to Yancy and away from Newton's lab, more out of protection than fear. She didn't want that thing anywhere near Yancy, no matter how sad she felt that the kaiju was so weak it almost was begging to be killed.

Tacit and Romeo moved to assist Newton as they tried to work on getting the shark-like kaiju back to health.

Newton finally stabilized the Kaiju enough to bring over the portable cat-scan machine.

“Okay, hold on buddy, I just gotta get a few scans then I'll leave you alone.” Newton smiled and gently patted the long flat top of it's head.

Otachi chirped from her perch and looked at the Knifehead curiously, climbing down and moving over to sniff at the short tail that hung off the edge of the table. She chattered and growled at the knifehead, although kept out of the way from Newton even as she walked toward the front, looking at the six eyes that barely focused on her.

Newton watched and made mental note after mental note of the behavior and seeming communication of the two kaiju. He wished he had a second set of arms so he could write down what he was seeing.

“Newton...what will happen when he gets healthier?” Yancy asked watching carefully.

“Well as soon as he seems to be getting back on his feet we'll put him back to the beach and set up a pen for him so you can start training. I think it'll be easier for him when he's in his own open environment. I'm sure it would have been easier with Otachi if I had thought of putting her in a larger room first.” Newton smiled at Yancy and slowly rubbed the rough scaly skin of the knifehead.

“Okay. Gipsy, you think you'd be willing to guard him while I'm at school?”

“I'm...not sure. I don't like the fact that you're going to be keeping that monster, but once it's not going to chew my arm off...I guess I could.” Gipsy sighed and watched. “Maybe you should ask Cherno though, because if it decides it wants to charge me, he'll be dead.”

“Okay...I get it.” Yancy smiled at her a bit before he looked up when Newton glanced at the scans.

“Newton? What's going on?” Hermann asked from his desk and equations.

“This knifehead doesn't have the gland that the other Kaiju in the same swarm had. And Otachi doesn't have it either from her scans.” Newton furrowed his brow and scratched at Otachi's head as he looked over the information again a challenge shinning in his eyes.


	20. Newton Geiszler

Chapter 20: Newton Geiszler

Newton had spent the past three weeks meticulously nursing the knifehead back to health for Yancy, as well as doing brain scan after brain scan on both Knifehead and Otachi. That is when he made the discovery about the strange activity that both of the Kaiju had when they made those strange noises to each other.

It was strange at first, as he watched the two Kaiju interact. He was afraid that as the larger Kaiju got better that Otachi would be in danger of being attacked, yet he noticed that the more they interacted, the better Knifehead was about being inspected by Newton and even Yancy.

“What are you telling him, Otachi?” he asked with a smile, stroking her head as he finished up the latest scans. “It's some sort of communication that you have, regardless of your sub-species.” he looked over at the large knifehead, still wondering what Yancy was going to call it other than 'Knifehead'.

The shark-like kaiju was looking at him with the remaining five eyes, the sixth one was damaged beyond repair and Newton had to remove it before it got infected. It seemed to watch him with caution, not sure about the man's intentions. The kaiju glanced at the smaller flying Otachi and tilted his head just a bit.

Otachi snapped her jaws gently a few times before it seemed that whatever was said was enough to have Knifehead rest again.

Newton looked over at Hermann's desk. He knew that the mathematician had been working on the whole Drifting thing along with Dr. Lightcap. They apparently had a make shift PONS unit somewhere. He just needed to find the key codes.

“Chrrrrrrp!” Otachi vocalized and looked at Newton the same way that Hermann did when he was caught doing something he shouldn't.

“Shh. I'm going to try and do something. It....may kill me...but, I gotta know how you guys work.” Newton gently rubbed her head and smiled.

“Hrrrrrrrrgggggg....”

“No you and Knifehead won't be in danger, there's a brain in storage that still has some activity in it from a big Alpha Kaiju.” Newton smiled and kissed her head. “I have to know, Otachi. You look after Knifehead okay? He's almost ready to head out to the beach for his training with Yancy.” Newton smiled and looked over the computer before finding the location for the PONS.

He glared at the high security but then that never really stopped him before. He smiled and grabbed leather gloves, a bolt cutter and large pair of pliers and left the lab.

~*~*~*~*~

Otachi watched as Newton left and sighed deeply. She felt her heart and stomach flip uneasily and she looked over at Knifehead.

~They will know he is there. What do we do?~ Knifehead asked with a worried look in his eyes. ~The man is intelligent, but he does not know what They will do. We are lucky to be free of Them.~

Otachi rumbled and shook her head. ~I don't know. He will need to be protected, and I will do that if I must.~ She looked to Knifehead with a firm glow to her eyes. ~He can stop Them when he finds out about Them. I know it.~

~*~*~*~*~

Newton looked around and bit his lip as he broke into the fenced of security area in the Shatterdome. He felt a little guilty but he had things to do, important science things! He wasn't sure how much longer the brain in the storage tank would be able to survive so he had to get this idea moving before time ran out.

He pulled out the rolling PONS unit and double checked his surroundings before he replaced the lock, thank God he learned how to pick locks when he was bored one weekend, and twisted the fence back together as best as he could.

Newton pulled the PONS unit quickly back to his lab, hearing the nervous noises that Otachi made when he locked the door to the lab behind him.

“Shhh, it's okay Otachi. It'll be really quick and I'll be fine.” Newton patted her head again, moving to the back to pull out the large life-support jar that held a brain the size of a large watermelon.

Otachi whined and looked back to Knifehead, who was sleeping. She didn't like it, but there was nothing she could do. She looked at the locked door, keeping an eye on Newton as he prepared the system to Drift with the Alpha brain. She moved quickly and unlocked it, pushing the door open enough for her to get out in case something went wrong. She had a feeling it would.

“Okay...Kaiju-Human drift experiment number one.” Newton said into his silver recorder. “As written in my notes, I've noticed that both Otachi and Knifehead have, at times, increased brain activity in an anterior lobe of their brain that has no other equal in other animals or humans.

“It seems to be part of a communication, since the activity usually happens when the two Kaiju are silent. The theory is that the Kaiju have some sort of telepathic communication.” Newton took a breath and moved a laptop over to the PONS unit.

“I am using the PONS unit to attempt a drift with an Alpha Kaiju from a Swarm. I hope to understand, via the Drift and it's ability to blend two brains together for a moment, how it is that the Alpha Kaiju are able to lead a swarm of 20 to 40 Kaiju in an attack.” Newton adjusted the cap on his head and turned on the computers.

“Hermann...I want you to know that I'm taking as many safety precautions as possible, hun. But...man I'm going to be a rock star when this works!” Newton grinned and turned on the switch. “Activating Drift in...3...2...1...”

The lights flickered in the lab, the power output for the area not quite enough to run the machine as well as Newton's and Hermann's many pieces of equipment and computers.

Newton gasped as he linked into the barely-alive brain. It was so strange, living through his own past again. He couldn't help but mentally smile as he watched some of his more recent memories. Memories of being with Hermann, of being with Otachi and when things seemed to be going so well. 

Then he heard the noises. The sickening screams of kaiju. The screams were deafening. Newton remembered why he was there and he tried to find out why. He tried so hard to find out how they were communicating, why they were swarming, he didn't notice until he felt a strange, horribly alien presence.

They knew he was there, and They were not happy. Their faces would be burned into his mind forever, and Newton knew he would never sleep well knowing something like Them existed in the universe.

They were insect-like, with black eyes with depths of great intelligence and held even greater madness. They were taller than men, and the power they wielded was terrible. Especially over the creatures They enslaved.

As he felt pain begin to rip at his brain, his very being from Them, he heard the voice.

~NEWTON!!~

There was the buffet of wings and a screeching roar, and the connection was severed safely, Their eyes and voices clawing for purchase before they were gone.

~*~*~*~*~

Otachi screamed loud enough to wake Knifehead from his nap.

~NEWTON! Knifehead get up! I'm getting Hermann! Watch him!~ Otachi went over and unlocked the cage before bolting off at full speed toward Hermann and Newton's quarters.

~Otachi?~ Knifehead whined and moved over to Newton.

The man was shaking, a trial of blood slowly oozing from his nose. He was making strange noises and the brain in the jar was dead and decaying quickly.

Knifehead rumbled and carefully cradled Newton in his smaller arms while his larger ones held his body still. He hoped that Otachi would come back soon.

~*~*~*~*~

Otachi skidded along the hallways before finally taking off and flying the rest of the way to the sleeping quarters. The Shatterdome was rather empty, even of maintenance crew. The flying Kaiju landed on the correct door and scratched at it and roared.

“What the bloody?”

“I've got it.” Romeo opened the door and yelped when Otachi flew in and landed on Hermann in bed. “WOAH!”

“What the hell?!” Tacit glared and grabbed his weapons and moved to attack the Kaiju as Hermann was woken even more.

“Wait! Otachi what the hell has gotten you all riled up?” Hermann tried to calm the frantic creature down as she flapped her wings and pulled at Hermann's nightshirt.

“Where's Newton? Isn't he usually in bed by now?” Romeo asked.

Otachi screeched and flew to the door and screeched again, trying hard to convey something obviously important.

Hermann frowned and saw the wide eyes of Otachi, her body language, and the cries she kept echoing down the halls toward the labs. His heart sank and he barely grabbed his cane before he bolted out. He didn't even feel the jagged pain in his thigh, his cane barely used properly in his urgency to get to Newton.

He tried to figure out why Otachi would be so terrified. Did Knifehead flip out and attack him? Did some Kaiju blood or some other fluid get onto him and he was in pain? His mind was racing and he was so terrified that Newton would be gravely injured.

The two Jaegers noticed the urgency and followed, worried about what may have happened to cause the Kaiju to be so terrified. Tacit was right on Herman's heels and Romeo right behind him. Tacit ducked slightly when Otachi flew over head at top speed. Something was wrong and the white mech was afraid that his inaction about housing two kaiju in the base had caused his friend to loose life or limb.

~*~*~*~*~

Hermann saw but didn't see Knifehead holding Newton. All he saw was Newton on his side on the ground. He pushed the Kaiju's head away and fell beside Newton.

“NEWTON?!” Hermann pulled the PONS helmet from his lover's head and pulled him close, feeling for a pulse. He looked at the blood and panicked, his mind was racing. He looked up at the dead brain floating in the jar, the computer outputs showing the evidence of a drift.

“Newton?!” Tacit squeaked and shuddered, looking over at the two Kaiju. 

Otachi was crying slightly, shifting from side to side with wide eyes. Knifehead laid down and just stared, five eyes worried. Their behavior screamed that they were just as terrified as Hermann, Romeo and himself.

“Tacit, Romeo; go get the medical team ASAP! Contact Pentecost and Dr. Lightcap, NOW!” Hermann ordered. He watched the two Jaegers run off as Hermann stayed with Newton. “Mien Gott, Newton...” he whispered kissing his forehead and trying to stay calm, keeping track of the man's breathing and heartbeat. “Please...please stay with me, Newt. The medical team is on the way. Please hold on.” He whispered placing a kiss on his forehead as he continued to stroke Newton's shaggy, unkempt hair.

“Her...mann...” Newton opened his eyes, his left one bloodshot. His voice was shaking and he looked up at his boyfriend. “They're...from the ocean.” he said shaking and reaching up to hold his hand. “The Kaiju...they're being controlled from beneath the Pacific Ocean.” Newton looked over at Otachi and Knifehead.

~Newton...~ their voices echoed in his head, and he understood just how much trouble the human race was in.

Newton kept a hold of Hermann's hand as the medics rushed in when the Jaegers returned. It was a way to ground himself in the storm that was raging in his mind. The eyes of those terrifying creatures still haunted the inside of his eyelids. Now he knew the answers to his questions, but at what cost?


	21. Stacker Pentecost and Herman Gottlieb

Chapter 21: Stacker Pentecost and Herman Gottlieb

Marshal Stacker Pentecost stared at the papers that were in his hand. The report was in depth, and the information was terrifying.

He had talked to Newton while he was in the medical bay, listening intently to every word that the scientist had to say, but the report that Newton had written up; with Hermann's help, was more clear than the young man's shaking voice.

~*~*~*~*~

'Upon first drifting with the Alpha Kaiju brain I was able to discover that the creatures have a hive-like mind. A type of telepathic communication linking every kaiju, regardless of sub-species, together. This communication allows for silent commands to be given to a large group of kaiju from an Alpha even during the loud chaos of a swarm battle.

'I also discovered that the Kaiju are not working upon their own will, or rather not all kaiju are. They are being controlled by an alien species from another dimension. They hijacked into the hive-mind through their incredible scientific advancements and have been controlling the Kaiju and using them as attack dogs.

'It is my belief that they have genetically changed the kaiju on their side of a trans-dimensional breach in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, to produce dangerous animals. I've found that both Otachi and the Knifehead currently in my lab lack the same posterior node in their brain that others of their kind do. Perhaps because they were born outside of their universe or that their genetics are breaking back down into what they were suppose to be originally, but that is the reason why certain Kaiju do not join in the swarm attacks.

'It is also my belief that these Masters, having had contact with them through the drift with the Alpha Kaiju brain, intend to destroy the entire human race and strip our planet of all resources. They have done this before, their species has spread out throughout the known universe, using Kaiju and other creatures to exterminate and experiment other species.

'Marshal Pentecost, it is my professional opinion that we must find and close this breach, or else we will be another experimental world for these creatures.'

~*~*~*~*~

Stacker frowned and ran a hand over his face as he allowed the information to sink in. It was too late to think about a total worldwide extinction caused by an alien race that was controlling creatures that they had been fighting for nearly seven years. And yet that it was he was doing at nearly two in the morning.

He looked over the other reports from Dr. Lightcap and the medical team about Newton's possible brain trauma from the uncontrolled drift with an alien brain, and how it could not be confirmed whether or not the images that Newton saw were in fact the memories of the brain or a possible hallucination brought on by the siezures documented by Dr. Gottlieb and the Jaegers Tacit Ronin and Romeo Blue.

While on one hand, he was inclined to believe the medical reports; Stacker saw the terror in the young man's eyes. While not many other than the medical team that worked with Dr. Lightcap knew, Stacker had drifted before as a willing test subject, both alone and even with another human being. The descriptions that Newton gave in his report about the drift were everything that he had felt while drifting with Herc Hansen, only much more alien.

Stacker frowned and put the paperwork down on his desk and looked out the window to the sleepy town that the Shatterdome overlooked. Without another though, he stood and moved down to the labs. He would not risk human lives without investigating all angles, including Newton's drift.

~*~*~*~*~

Hermann sighed and looked over the PONS machine, pulling the programming into his laptop and starting to pull it apart for more information at the request of Dr. Lightcap. He glanced around the lab, checking on the other residents and sighed.

Newton was laying down in the couch sleeping soundly after being released from the medical bay; Otach was perched on the back of the couch like a gargoyle on the side of a gothic church.

Knifehead had moved back to his kennel, sleeping soundly in the dark, the door still open to let him explore. Hermann knew that within a day or two he would be moved out of the labs and back to the beach to continue to grow healthy and be tamed by Yancy Becket.

The Jaegers had been cleaning up the mess that had been made from Newton's impromptu drift, but now Tacit was near the couch as well, periodically checking Newton's vitals.

Romeo was leaning up against the desk near him, silent and staring into the distance in deep thought.

The mathematician shook his head and looked back at the information across the computer screen and pushed his glasses farther onto his nose as he read. Dr. Lightcap was worried that the drift with the Alpha Kaiju brain could have damaged the system considering it was only calibrated to human brain patterns.

So far he had seen no damage in the program or the information that had been corrupted by the brain patterns. His curiosity was piqued and pulled up the drift between Newton and the Kaiju brain.

The patterns were surprisingly similar, not identical but enough that it would be considered a 'safe' drift with proper precautions, not that Newton had used the proper precautions; the stupid man. Hermann sighed and watched the read out of the drift, barely two minutes in length. He frowned and squinted as he saw a strange increase in the Kaiju's brain activity, but it was much stronger and more alien and unlike the slightly more normal Kaiju activity.

“Doctor Gottlieb.”

Hermann gasped and jumped, turning around to see Marshal Pentecost standing in the lab.

“Marshal, I apologize. You startled me. I was researching the information provided by the drift and...I have to say that I believe that Newton did see what he says he saw in the drift. I understand what the medical team said but-” Hermann frowned and quieted when the imposing man raised his hand.

“I believe him as well. Right now, though, I'm concerned about the implications of this 'breach' that Newton saw. His report did not have the exact location, but I imagine it could be probable that we could detect such a breach with scanners and deep ocean sonar. I know the International Oceanic Weather Service have buoys all over the Pacific Ocean, I need you to try and find where this breach may be.”

Hermann blinked and looked at him and nodded. “Of course. No matter what the energy needed to connect to dimensions has to be discharging regularly, especially if it's a constant stable connection. I'll get right on that, sir.” He moved to another computer and pulled up the information that the PPDC was allowed to have access to. “Sir...if Newton is right, even though I believe him I wish it wasn't, what are we going to do?”

Stacker frowned and stood up straight, glancing toward Newton, Otachi and Tacit. “We will do what we must, and find a way to close the Breach.”

~*~*~*~*~

Hermann worked hours every day for a week programming and building a new scanner to take in all the information being brought in by the oceanic sensors. He was determined to locate The Breach. Thankfully Romeo was more than eager to help keep his optics open on the incoming information and allow Hermann to work on more equations to try and narrow down the search pattern to the most likely location.

“Hermann...I remembered something.”

The mathematician looked up and over to Newton, who had been working on more research since his drift. He had been trying to be his normal self during the waking hours, but Hermann knew how much Newton clung to him during sleep. It broke his heart hearing him whimper from the ghostly images that flashed through his brain.

“What do you remember? Is it from the drift?”

“Yeah. I saw...I saw a bright flashing glow and lightning in the ocean. Really deep, like...the pressure was insane. Try looking in the Marianas Trench...” Newt looked at him and chewed his lip a bit. Otachi, who had been perched on his shoulder almost constantly since the drift, nuzzled him and chirped lovingly.

“That would make the most sense...there aren't many sensors in the abyss. Romeo, pull up the sensors from the trench from before the first reported Kaiju appearance to current, please.” Hermann smiled at Newton and made the effort to walk over and press a kiss into his cheek. “Don't worry, we'll be all right, Newton.” Hermann moved back to his side of the lab and looked at the information, missing the smile that Newt returned to him.

“I think we have something, Hermann. There's a strange thermal signature that has emanated from Challenger Deep on a fairly regular basis.” Romeo looked up as Hermann walked over.

“It...it's also giving off a strange radiation as well.” Hermann sat in the chair as Romeo vacated and began to pull up more information. “It's radioactive decay. We found it! It has to be confirmed but considering the abnormalities start around the same time of the first known Kaiju appearance this has to be the Breach.” Hermann smiled and lifted his phone and punched the number in excitedly.

~*~*~*~*~

Stacker watched as the deep sea ROV's lights cut through the darkness of the crushing depth. Hermann and Newton stood beside him as the entire PPDC watched the feed from the LOCCENT offices. He knew that what the cameras did or did not find would be the turning point for three careers.

“We're moving toward the edge at Challenger Deep,” Tendo said in awe.

At first, there was just more darkness as they reached the edge where the Marianas Trench went to the very deepest point known on planet Earth. Then, there was the shock of lightning and the bright glow of fire where it shouldn't be.

The cameras panned down into a strange hovering rip just above the floor of Challenger Deep. The water temperature was boiling, and the strange blue strikes of lightning caused strange plasma to appear and then disappear.

“That's it. That's the Breach,” Newton said with wide, terrified eyes, as if he was re-living the Drift.

“I want scanners and instruments down there ASAP. Hermann,” Stacker turned to the mathematician with firm eyes. “Find out what makes that thing work and how we shut it down. Newton,” he said with a firm voice as he turned to the man. “I want you to find out the Kaiju's weaknesses. Find a way to break that hive-mind connection that connects them to the other side.”

“Yes sir!” Hermann said saluting.

Newton just nodded and looked at Romeo and Tacit, reaching up to stroke Otachi's side as she curled around his neck. “I will, Marshal. I'd rather see Kaiju free like Knifehead and Otachi and live their own lives than being used as tools.”

Stacker nodded and looked over the video feed. He would not let these creatures endanger the planet, endanger his daughter and her future. He would make the final stand if he had to. He looked to the rest of the crew.

“Let's move people!” In that moment, the PPDC became more than just a line of defense.


	22. Yancy and Knifehead

Chapter 22: Yancy and Knifehead.

Yancy wasn't sure where to start, really, as he stared at Knifehead in his pen on the beach. The pen reached out at least twenty yards out into the ocean and ten yards into the beach on a rocky outcrop so the kaiju couldn't dig his way out. It was about ten feet wide so that Knifehead had room to move, but mostly it seemed the creature stayed in the water.

Yancy looked down at his left arm, flexing the mechanical fingers and wondering if he was doing the right thing, trying to tame the same creature that ate his arm. Yet every time he saw Knifehead come up and sun himself on the warm rocks, he felt that doubt fly away.

Knifehead was small, and still a little thin looking, but his bright orange and blue lights seemed to be glowing more strongly. He seemed to enjoy being back out and able to swim and even hunt some of the fish that came through the steel fencing that made up the pen. Really once he was out of the Shatterdome, the Kaiju was much more active, and didn't spend so much time sleeping in the kennel that Newton brought out with the pen.

It was a surprise, though, when Knifehead seemed to keen after Otachi, and it seemed that something had happened between Newton and the two Kaiju. Yancy smiled when Newton promised Knifhead that he and Otachi would visit just as often as Yancy.

“I hope I'm doing the right thing, Knifey,” Yancy said walking over and opening the cooler to bring out a piece of tuna fish. He was glad that Newton helped with the food cost with getting extra for Knifehead. His parents; the adoption finally went through and the feeling of being a SON instead of a foster son was amazing; weren't too happy with the whole pet Kaiju, but helped when they could.

Knifehead perked up when he heard his name, really what kind of name was 'Knifey or Knifehead? He didn't care really, his five eyes looking focused on the piece of red tuna. He rumbled and looked at the metal arm that was holding the fish, memories coming through and he took a step back.

He felt a strange pit open in his chest, near his heart and he rumbled sadly again. The arm that held the fish wasn't organic, it was metal like the Jaegers and he knew why. Knifhead had bitten the boy's arm off in a haze of pain, starvation and frustration.

~I am sorry.~ he rumbled before walking forward when Yancy stuck his arm through a larger hole in the metal fencing to offer the meat. He nudged his arm with the flat top of his nose and then carefully, considering how his jaw usually snapped forward, took the Tuna.

Yancy smiled and gently rubbed the top of Knifehead's head, scratching gently at the hard bone under the scales to reinforce their bond.

“I promise I'll take good care of you. Even if Gipsy and Raleigh think I'm crazy.” The teenager laughed a bit and gave the flat of the head one last pat before pulling his arm out.

~*~*~*~*~

Knifehead glared from the middle of his pen, half in the water as he had buried himself in the sand a bit. He was watching the blue Jaeger walk with Yancy and Raleigh. He remembered her, the sting of those swords and the bruises and breaking of bone those fists left. He wasn't...angry, no that wasn't the word, he was more cautious. After all, he could understand why the Jaeger had attacked him. Of course it didn't mean he wouldn't consider the fact that Jaegers didn't like Kaiju no matter what.

The younger boy was different. His name was Raleigh, from what Otachi and Newton had told him through the hive mind, and then what Yancy had said when introducing them properly. He was leery and kept his distance, but also seemed to hold back the Jaeger as well from his pen.

In reality, Knifehead didn't know what to think about the new caretakers. He supposed that they weren't as bad as Newton could be when he was chattering on about one thing or another. He didn't know how Otachi could stand the man. Yet here he was, watching as Yancy talked to his brother and walked over to the pen and feeling a bit of excitement rise in his chest.

“C'mon, Raleigh, you gotta try to feed him. Newt said that he should be fed by a lot of people if he's going to be tamer. Besides, his head is really smooth, it's weird.” Yancy laughed a bit and looked over his shoulder. “And he's gotten a lot friendlier. Don't tell Newt, but I think he's got a crush on Otachi.”

Knifehead snorted from the slits on the top of his head and stood from the sand. He did NOT have a crush on Otachi! He shook off the sand and stood on his thick back legs, walking over to the larger feeding slot.

“Otachi's like, half his size...although she has been getting a little bigger I guess. Do you think they can breed?” Raleigh asked walking over and watching Knifehead.

“What would the baby look like?” Gipsy asked, suddenly interested in Knifehead's movements.

“Dunno, but hey, if he's happy, and as long as his pups or...chicks or whatever you'd call them don't go crazy, I'd be happy to have him be a dad.” Yancy smiled and laughed when the kaiju stuck the blade of his head through the hole where Yancy usually stuck his arm to feed him. “Come here, it's so cool. He likes being scratched.”

Knifehead watched as Raleigh walked closer and gently held his hand out to touch his sharp nose. He snorted salty air out of his blow holes, startling Raleigh and making Yancy laugh softly. Knifehead smirked a bit himself and relaxed and let Raleigh finally touch his smooth head. His two eyes on his left side watched as Gipsy walked closer, cautious but he could see she was curious.

“Wow...it's like leather over bone...but he looks like he's sharp and pointy everywhere else.” Raleigh looked at Yancy and scratched a bit at the nose, reveling in the rumble that was made.

“Yeah, the underside of his nose is really sharp, so be careful. Learned that the hard way. What do you say ya feed the big lug, kid?”

“Sure, old man. And really? You call him Knifey?” Raleigh looked at the plaque that was near the corner with the Kaiju's name.

“It's just a nickname. Maybe I'll call him Big K. What do you think?” Yancy looked at Knifehead who seemed to consider the thought before his focus was on the chunk of Tuna that was brought out by Raleigh.

“I still don't know why you've decided to keep him. He ate your arm.” Gipsy sat down at the corner of the pen and stared at Knifehead.

Knifehead looked at Gipsy and pulled his nose from the feeding slot before moving over to swing his head from side to side, getting a good look at her. He rumbled a little and tossed his head away when he saw Raleigh come back with the big chunk of tuna. He moved forward, moving to gnaw at the bars excitedly. He really had come to love the thick chunks of tuna that they fed him. It was really only once a week, the rest of the time he was fed some bass or carp which was okay as well.

Raleigh looked over at his brother at the excited movements from Knifehead, large three-clawed hands gripping the fencing of the pen.

“You sure he's not going to...bite?”

“Very sure, I usually put one hand on the top of his head, and he'll open up his jaws. He looks like a Goblin Shark when he does it.” Yancy put a supportive hand on his little brother's shoulder. He gently pushed Knifehead's head back a bit, so he could put his hand through the feeding slot and scratched at the top of his head.

As expected, Knifehead lifted his bladed nose a bit more and opened his maw, lower jaw nearly dislodging and moving forward to reach for the fish. He rumbled and focused his five eyes toward the red meat of the fish.

“Okay...easy, big guy. No biting me okay?” Raleigh said, reaching in with his free hand to join Yancy's on the top of Knifehead's nose and carefully held the tuna steak and reached into the pen with it. His heart was racing and he shook just a bit before he tossed the steak into the open maw.

Knifehead snapped it up, pulling his head back and away from the hands on his nose before he tossed his head up and swallowed the steak with a contented glow to his eyes and stripes.

“Wasn't that cool? Maybe I should have had you give him some carp so he wouldn't have been so eager for it.” Yancy laughed and patted his brother's shoulder proudly. “How about you Gipsy? You wanna feed him?”

Gipsy looked up and then to the Knifehead who was licking his strange mouth with a wide fleshy tongue. “I...don't know. Maybe a piece of carp? I mean...if he's going to be your pet, then I guess I should try and help.”

“Atta-girl, Gip.” Yancy smiled and went to the cooler and brought out a carp and walked over with Gipsy at his side.

Raleigh was smiling and watched the creature as he looked at the carp with interest, although not as much as the tuna.

Knifehead took the step forward again, tilting his head and clacking his jaws together eagerly. He could catch fish on his own, but it felt good to have physical contact with Yancy and his sibling, and even the Jaeger. He remembered the other two jaegers, Romeo and Tacit, had been fairly cautious around him at first, but Romeo warmed up quickly and eventually so did Tacit.

Knifehead sighed a bit at the memories before he saw Gipsy reach through and offer the whole fish to him. He walked forward and, instead of using his jaws, gripped the fish with his two smaller fore-limbs, pulling it out of her hand and then going back to sit in the sand and eat peacefully. Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad after all, staying with Yancy and his family. He smiled a bit and felt that strange bubble of warmth in his chest grow. Yes he could stay here.

~*~*~*~*~

When the news came in that they found The Breach, Knifehead felt relief. He was glad Otachi kept in contact with him through the hive-mind, and was glad for the subtle presence of Newton as well. It meant that this strange race of mammals would have a chance of destroying Them.

“Hey Big K.” Yancy smiled and walked over with something in his hand. It was relatively long, and was bright orange, like his stripes. There was something dangling off of it, though, and it was shiny.

Knifehead rumbled a bit and walked over to where the door had been installed a week ago by Newton so that Yancy could start handling him.

“I got you a collar, buddy. So we can start going on walks and work on the leash.” Yancy smiled and walked in, closing the door behind him and smiled at the Knifehead. He was glad that Knifehead was welcoming him with his trademark twitch of his tail and shake of his massive head before he got up from his nest of blankets that he had pulled out of his kennel and onto the hot sand.

Knifehead adjusted his jaw before he walked over and gently lowering his head for rubs. He also got a better look at this...collar. He had seen Otachi wear one around her neck proudly. She had insisted it was so she didn't loose Newton, hence the leash that attached from the collar to around Newton's hand. Knifehead figured it was the other way around.

As he looked at the collar he approved. It was thick and masculine, and even had some silver studs in it that shined brightly. When he looked at the shiny identification he grinned.

'Knifehead' was what was written on one side, while on the other was Yancy's information.

“What do ya say, big guy? Wanna go and take a walk on the beach?” Yancy smiled and scratched the kaiju's head vigorously before wrapping the collar around his massive neck. Thankfully it fit comfortably with enough room to move.

The kaiju reached up with his smaller arms and touched the collar curiously, not able to really see it on him, but he liked how it felt. It would get some getting used to, but if it meant he didn't have to be in the pen all the time, he was all for it.

“Rrrggg....” he purred and lowered his pointed nose to the ground and pressed the top of his head into Yancy's thigh.

“Atta-boy,” Yancy praised and hooked the heavy duty leash to the loop and gently let him inspect it. “Now you gotta behave all right? No running around crazy like Otachi.” he laughed.

~Please, it was Newton's fault for that.~ Knifehead chattered at him, knowing he didn't understand, but who cared. He gave an experimental tug at the leash before pointing his nose toward the door.

Yancy got the hint and opened the door, keeping a firm grip on the leash as he led Knifehead out. He was a little nervous that Knifehead would get something in his head and start to run off, but then again, the kaiju was laid back and didn't seem to be the type to run off and go wild. He still held the leash tightly, just in case, in his left hand.

Knifehead walked out and looked around, perking up a bit more before he walked farther toward one way on the beach. He wasn't pulling, not really, just gently tugging on the leash to get Yancy to walk with him. His eyes brightened at the smile he received and he walked along the beach.

Yancy smiled and put his hand in his pocket as he walked. “Y'know...I hope they let me bring you with me when I go into the PPDC as a Ranger. I'm sure Newt wouldn't mind watching you when I'm on missions with Raleigh and Gipsy. Just gotta wait four more years for Raleigh to be able to apply with me.” Yancy laughed as he spoke, the leash comfortably slack as Knifehead walked next to him.

Knifehead looked up and rumbled in response. He wouldn't mind being in the Shatterdome again. He felt safe there, and enjoyed the company of the scientists and of course Otachi. He hoped, though, that they wouldn't need them when the two boys were able to apply to be Rangers. He wanted to be able to see his kind free from the control of the Precursors. To be able to see the other Kaiju free and live their lives, and let their bodies go back to how they were suppose to be. Perhaps the humans wouldn't be too happy if they stayed after The Breach was closed, but where else could they go?

“Hrrrr....” he rumbled and looked at Yancy before looking back out to the ocean, feeling a tug that he knew would be another type of Kaiju being released from the depths.

~You have to close it, Yancy. Save your planet...save my race.~ Knifehead looked back at Yancy and leaned on him, gently.

“Don't worry. No one is ever going to hurt you again, Big K. You'll be safe with me. I bet even Gipsy would fight for you.” Yancy reached down with his metal hand, still surprised at how much he could feel with the advancement of technology, and scratched at his head, making sure to get into the thick scales.

They walked the beach for well over an hour before Yancy finally unhooked the leash and put Knifehead back into the pen. The Kaiju was exhausted and a little hungry but he could wait to hunt until Yancy left. He rumbled and brushed the back of his large clawed hand along Yancy's side in his way of saying goodnight.

“G'night to you too, Knifehead. Don't cause too much trouble tonight while I'm gone. I think the Jaegers will be by tomorrow to visit and give you some attention.” Yancy smiled and scratched at his head again roughly, really getting to the sides of his head and the thick armor. The teen relished in those little noises of pleasure from the Kaiju, like a purring cat or a rumbling happy dog. He turned around and locked the door to the pen. It wouldn't do to have anyone try to break into the pen and get a nasty surprise. Thankfully it hadn't happened.

“Haaarrrrrrruuu...” Knifehead bellowed out and watched Yancy walk away with a wave. He smiled a bit and moved to hunt, hoping that the crabs would come back as usual, or find some clams. He had possibly gone soft, but at this point, he just wanted to help these humans free them.


End file.
